In California, the Monterey Plaza Hotel sued the Hotel Employees Local 483 after a member of the union made comments about firings conducted by the hotel. The union successfully invoked California’s anti-SLAPP statute to quickly dismiss the case. 

In 2007, Smithfield foods filed a federal lawsuit against the United Food and Commercial workers, claiming that the union orchestrated a public smear campaign to hurt Smithfield’s business as a method of extorting the company and alleging $5 million in damages. Part of the “smear campaign” was the encouragement of local government entities to censure Smithfield’s practices.

In 1997, the health care organization Beverly Enterprises sued the local president of the Service Employees International Union, accusing her of defaming an executive of the company in a one-on-one confrontation at a rally and at an informal town hall meeting called by five members of Congress.

In 1996, medical services provider Beverly Enterprises sued a nurses union in Pennsylvania for malicious defamation in the publication of fliers and radio statements about safety issues and the ongoing labor dispute between the union and the medical services company.

In New Jersey in 2006, a hospital sued the local Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE) and its president for, among other things, testifying before a State Assembly Health Committee and regulatory agencies about poor patient care at the hospital.