# Washington — Anti-SLAPP special motion deadlines, fee-shifting and discovery stay by state

For Washington, deadline to file the motion is Not later than sixty days after a party is served with a complaint, cross-claim, counterclaim, third-party claim, or other pleading that asserts a cause of action to which this chapter applies, or at a later time on a showing of good cause, the party may file a special motion for expedited relief to dismiss the cause of action or part of the cause of action; attorney's fees for the prevailing party is On a motion under RCW 4.105.020 , the court shall award court costs, reasonable attorneys' fees, and reasonable litigation expenses related to the motion: (1) To the moving party if the moving party prevails on the motion; or (2) To the responding party if the responding party prevails on the motion and the court finds that the motion was not substantially justified or filed solely with intent to delay the proceeding; effect on discovery is Except as otherwise provided in subsections (4) through (7) of this section, on the earlier of the giving of notice of intent to file a motion under RCW 4.105.020 (1) or the filing of a motion under RCW 4.105.020 (2): (a) All other proceedings between the moving party and responding party, including discovery and a pending hearing or motion, are stayed; and; statute is Wash. Rev. Code ch. 4.105 (Uniform Public Expression Protection Act), recorded from its source on 2026-09-02.

- **State:** Washington _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Deadline to file the motion:** Not later than sixty days after a party is served with a complaint, cross-claim, counterclaim, third-party claim, or other pleading that asserts a cause of action to which this chapter applies, or at a later time on a showing of good cause, the party may file a special motion for expedited relief to dismiss the cause of action or part of the cause of action. _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Attorney's fees for the prevailing party:** On a motion under RCW 4.105.020 , the court shall award court costs, reasonable attorneys' fees, and reasonable litigation expenses related to the motion: (1) To the moving party if the moving party prevails on the motion; or (2) To the responding party if the responding party prevails on the motion and the court finds that the motion was not substantially justified or filed solely with intent to delay the proceeding. _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Effect on discovery:** Except as otherwise provided in subsections (4) through (7) of this section, on the earlier of the giving of notice of intent to file a motion under RCW 4.105.020 (1) or the filing of a motion under RCW 4.105.020 (2): (a) All other proceedings between the moving party and responding party, including discovery and a pending hearing or motion, are stayed; and _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Statute:** Wash. Rev. Code ch. 4.105 (Uniform Public Expression Protection Act) _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> (2) Not later than sixty days after a party is served with a complaint, cross-claim, counterclaim, third-party claim, or other pleading that asserts a cause of action to which this chapter applies, or at a later time on a showing of good cause, the party may file a special motion for expedited relief to dismiss the cause of action or part of the cause of action.

## Where each value comes from

This source states these in separate places, so each value is shown with the passage that states it.

### Deadline to file the motion

> (2) Not later than sixty days after a party is served with a complaint, cross-claim, counterclaim, third-party claim, or other pleading that asserts a cause of action to which this chapter applies, or at a later time on a showing of good cause, the party may file a special motion for expedited relief to dismiss the cause of action or part of the cause of action.

### Attorney's fees for the prevailing party

> On a motion under RCW 4.105.020 , the court shall award court costs, reasonable attorneys' fees, and reasonable litigation expenses related to the motion: (1) To the moving party if the moving party prevails on the motion; or (2) To the responding party if the responding party prevails on the motion and the court finds that the motion was not substantially justified or filed solely with intent to delay the proceeding.

### Effect on discovery

> (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (4) through (7) of this section, on the earlier of the giving of notice of intent to file a motion under RCW 4.105.020 (1) or the filing of a motion under RCW 4.105.020 (2): (a) All other proceedings between the moving party and responding party, including discovery and a pending hearing or motion, are stayed; and

## Source

- https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=4.105&full=true

Last verified: 2026-09-02. Review by: 2027-09-02.
Part of [Anti-SLAPP special motion deadlines, fee-shifting and discovery stay by state](https://referencesource.org/anti-slapp-motion-provisions-by-state/).