Just a heads up on a no-brainer lawsuit, as a sign of when a bad customer review warrants responding with a defamation lawsuit. Folks, this one is over before it begins. So if you ever dare to publicly accuse someone of a crime… duh… think twice before typesetting that accusation and posting it on the web. Call the police instead, file a report, copy it, and send it to a local newspaper anonymously. If they don’t publish it, then you’ll know their media lawyer advised them it’s a lawsuit waiting to happen..

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57557721-71/negative-yelp-post-lands-reviewer-with-$750k-suit/

I believe that just a “negative” review would never have gotten this far.  It is definitely the outright accusation of theft that would push any company over the edge.  If the review really believes the contractor stole jewelry from her home, there should have been a police report to back it up.

No one can make these types of accusations and believe there will be no consequences.

@amyhallbiz @supereb @kimkline

Interestingly, had the business she complained about had been a doctor, her victim could NOT speak publicly at all to defend himself, unless he spoke the words within a court of law, through filed court papers, in depositions or on a witness stand.

Any doctor or health professional who dares defend a public accusation risks violating their patient’s right to privacy on medical issues and most certainly will lose any countersuit on those issues. I pitched a client once who had hundreds of false accusations smearing his name on every conceivable search term. What a mess. He was even called a killer…. But the laws silenced him, with his only avenue to defend in court. He didn’t take that route. He just reinvented himself, but still, he’s got online stalkers after him. 

He needs to hire that girl on that TV show, Scandal. Now SHE is a useful resource!

Robin Carlisle