Utah Supreme Court · 2026 UT 7, 587 P.3d 981
Aston v. Chronicle-Progress LLC
Granted in part UPEPA- Forum
- Utah Supreme Court
- Case number
- 2026 UT 7, 587 P.3d 981
- Motion decided
- Apr 2, 2026
- Outcome
- Granted in part
- Conduct at issue
- Newspaper reporting on a developer's history of failed business deals and bankruptcies
- Underlying claims
- Defamation
Docket · filings
What the court held
- On first impression the court held that the phrase related to the motion in Section 78B-25-110 limits recovery to expenses reasonably necessary to prosecute the special motion, not the entire litigation.
- The district court had granted the motion and awarded roughly $394,000 covering essentially all work in the case, without a task-by-task analysis.
- Remanded for recalculation.