Nexus Group, Inc. v. Heritage Appraisal Service, 942 N.E.2d 119

Nexus sues Heritage for defamation and punitive damages over defendant Landing's public statements about Nexus's property assessments.
Heritage moves to dismiss under Indiana anti-SLAPP statute; trial court converts to summary judgment motion under IC 34-7-7-9.
Public statements at issue include July 29, 2007 letter to The News-Dispatch and August 3, 2007 article quoting Landing.
Court held statements concerned a public issue (tax assessments) and Landing acted with good faith and a reasonable basis in law and fact.
Trial court granted summary judgment for Heritage and awarded appellate fees; Nexus appeals and seeks appellate fees remand.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether anti-SLAPP dismissal was proper	Nexus contends issues of fact preclude dismissal	Heritage argues statements made in public interest, with good faith and basis	Proper summary judgment under anti-SLAPP
Whether statements were made in good faith and with a reasonable basis	Nexus alleges lack of good faith and basis	Heritage shows Landing acted with genuine factual basis and community interest	Yes, in good faith with reasonable basis
Whether Nexus proved actual malice or knowledge of falsity	Nexus argues statements were knowingly false	Heritage lacks evidence of actual malice; Landing denied making quotes	No genuine issue of fact; no actual malice shown
Whether appellate attorney fees should be awarded on appeal	Nexus challenges appellate fee shifting	Heritage seeks appellate fees consistent with anti-SLAPP purpose	Remand for appellate attorney fees hearing

Hamilton v. Prewett, 860 N.E.2d 1234 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007) (anti-SLAPP aims to deter chill on speech; governs standard)
Shepard v. Schurz Communications, Inc., 847 N.E.2d 219 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006) (remand for appellate fees when prevailing anti-SLAPP defendant)
Poulard v. Lauth, 793 N.E.2d 1120 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003) (fee-shifting serves chilling effect against abusive suits)