"[A]ll final decisions" are appealable. 28 U.S.C. §1291. Whether a decision to deny a "pretrial request to dismiss" is final "will generally turn on whether the de-fendant has asserted a defense to liability or instead an immunity from suit." GEO Grp., Inc. v. Menocal, 607 U.S. ___, 2026 WL 513536, at *4 (Feb. 25, 2026). Unlike li-ability defenses, immunities from suit are "irretrievably lost once trial occurs" because their "essence" is a right to "avoid[], in addition to liability, all the usual 'burdens of litigation,' including a trial." Id. at *5. California was the first of thirty-nine states to pro-vide Americans with statutory "anti-SLAPP" rights to avoid "harassment and burdens of litigation" targeting speech. Varian Med. Sys., Inc. v. Delfino, 106 P.3d 958, 967 (Cal. 2005). The circuits are divided on whether pre-trial denials of such rights are immediately appealable. The en banc Ninth Circuit held they are not, departing from a majority of circuits holding they are. The question presented is: Whether a pretrial denial of rights conferred by Cali-fornia's anti-SLAPP law is immediately appealable.

Whether a pretrial denial of rights conferred by California's anti-SLAPP law is immediately appealable