Negative ‘Review’ Leads To Lawsuit
By Anna Johnson on January 13th, 2009The parties may have settled, but the libel lawsuit brought by a San Francisco-based chiropractor against an ex-patient for a negative review posted on Yelp clearly shows that online discussion boards are NOT beyond the reach of the law.
In 2007, Christopher Norberg posted a negative review of Advanced Chiropractic Center on Yelp, a business review site. Norberg complained that he expected to be charged $125 by his doctor – the plaintiff in the case, Dr. Steven Biegel – but was instead billed $500. Norberg added that the plaintiff couldn’t explain the price hike and that he later found “a much better, honest chiropractor.”
Dr Biegel subsequently brought a lawsuit against Norberg. This is the first time a Yelp user has been sued for defamation following a negative review, according to MediaPost (as reported by MarketingVOX). The parties resolved the case through mediation and it is not known what settlement amounts (if any) were reached.
The case has met with a mixed response among Yelp members and commentators. While some view the lawsuit as being excessively litigious… others support Dr Biegel’s decision to address what he believed were defamatory statements made about him. Apparently, after posting his review, Norberg ignored requests by Biegel to resolve the matter.
Whether or not you agree with lawsuit, it seems increasingly clear that if you make defamatory statements online – whether in a product review, on a discussion board, on a blog, on Twitter, or on any public online place – you do so at your own risk.
