Age Verification Resources > Lawsuits

FSC v. Knudsen (Montana)

Free Speech Coalition has filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief against the Attorney General of Montana, over the state’s age-verification law, SB544, in the US District Court of Montana. FSC and the other plaintiffs, including journalists, sex educators, therapists, book publishers, sexual wellness retailers are asking a district court to block enforcement of the law pending resolution of the case. More »

Timeline

  • June 24, 2024
    Montana filed a motion to dismiss our case.
  • May 14, 2024
    FSC & co-plaintiffs sued Montana’s Attorney General.
Full case history and documents

Attorneys

Jeff Sandman
D. Gill Sperlein
Natasha Prinzing Jones

Firms
Webb Daniel Friedlander LLP
The Law Office of D. Gill Sperlein
Boone Karlberg P.C.

Key Points

  • The law creates a private cause of action to sue a website that does not “perform reasonable age verification methods to verify the age of individuals attempting to access the material.”
  • The law violates the First Amendment by restricting access to a specific type of constitutionally-protected expression in the most restrictive, yet least effective way.

Court Filings

Complaint

Read the Complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Montana on May 14, 2024.

Motion to Dismiss

On June 24, 2024, Montana filed a motion to dismiss our case and accompanying brief.

We filed our opposition to the case being dismissed on July 15, 2024.

Montana filed their reply to our opposition on July 29, 2024.