§ 25-21,245.Action involving public petition and participation; motion to dismiss; when granted; duty to expedite.

This is Nebraska’s special motion to dismiss for public-petition cases, and it works differently from the state’s general-purpose motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. Under the ordinary rule, a court asks whether the pleading states a claim, largely accepting the plaintiff’s allegations as true and applying no special burden-shifting framework. Under section 25-21,245, the moving party — typically the defendant who spoke out against a permit or entitlement — carries the first burden: showing that the claim, cross-claim, or counterclaim subject to the motion is an action involving public petition and participation as section 25-21,242 defines that term.

Once the moving party makes that showing, the burden shifts to the party defending the claim. That party must demonstrate that the claim has a substantial basis in law, or is supported by a substantial argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing law. If the responding party cannot make that showing, the statute leaves the court no discretion: the motion “shall be granted.” That is a mandatory outcome, not one committed to the court’s judgment call, once the burden-shifting analysis plays out against the plaintiff.

The section adds a second, procedural command: the court shall expedite and grant preference in the hearing of the motion. That duty pushes the motion ahead of the ordinary docket, reflecting the Legislature’s goal of resolving these claims — and freeing a defendant from the burden of continued litigation over speech on a public matter — as fast as the court calendar allows.