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Free Speech

Anti-SLAPP Law Doesn't Apply to Foreign Speech by Foreigners

Eugene Volokh | 8.31.2026 8:33 AM

The case is a decision by Judge Susan Illston (N.D. Cal.) Friday in Doe v. Deutsche Lufthansa AG (see also a separate post this morning about the substantive issues in the case). A quick summary of the facts: In 2021, Doe and Roe—a gay couple living in Saudi Arabia, who were married in California in 2013—were flying on Lufthansa from Riyadh to San Francisco. For complicated reasons related to U.S. COVID-related travel rules, Doe and Roe ended up having to disclose to a senior Lufthansa employee at Riyadh airport (Jamshed) that they were married under U.S. law, and the employee allegedly disclosed that publicly; they also allege that the information about the marriage was conveyed to Saudi authorities.

In 2021, Doe and Roe were flying on Lufthansa from Riyadh to San Francisco. For complicated reasons related to U.S. COVID-related travel rules, Doe and Roe ended up having to disclose to a senior Lufthansa employee at Riyadh airport (Jamshed) that they were married under U.S. law, and the employee allegedly said that publicly; they also allege that the information about the marriage was conveyed to Saudi authorities.

Doe and Roe sued, alleging that Jamshed's statements were actionable as disclosure of private facts, as intentional infliction of emotional distress, and other theories. Friday, Judge Illston concluded that California's anti-SLAPP statute—which provides various protections for defendants in lawsuits based on speech on public matters—doesn't apply to the case:

Lufthansa contends that Jamshed's........

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