Popular review site Yelp has quickly gained a critical mass of users, who use it to determine the best pizza in town or whether to have their oil changed by the mechanic down the street. Reviewers at the site tend to be relatively frank in their comments but one Chicago business believes a reviewer went too far and is suing, according to an article in the Chicago Bar-Tender.
Plaintiff Urban Out Sitters Inc. provides pet services, including boarding, walking and in-house care.
The defendant "willfully and maliciously" posted defamatory statements on Yelp and Craigslist "insinuating that Plaintiff 'beat and hit dogs' and that Plaintiff's past clients 'had experiences that traumatized their pets,'" according to the complaint.
Free speech certainly is protected in most instances, but one important fact distinguishes this case.
This particular reviewer is a former employee (Christopher Pesch), so the plaintiff is alleging breach of an employment agreement whereby the employee agreed to refrain from making negative statements about the company. Pesch's review is no longer posted on Yelp, but it certainly wasn't the only negative review.
The employment contract is called a "non-disparagement clause"
(a copy of which is included in the complaint), and the suit also claims "tortious interference with a prospective business advantage," but we'll focus on the injury claim of defamation for the purposes of this blog.
According to FindLaw, one defense to a defamation claim is the truth. An Illinois injury lawyer would be better able to answer this question, but how is his negative review any different than the others posted on Yelp?
Pesch's alleged Craigslist comments also are included in the complaint, which are worth a read.
Related Resources:
- Can I Say That? Defamation Law Made Simple (FindLaw)
- Review Sites Under Fire: Useful Consumer Tools or a Plague of Unfairness to Businesses and Professionals? (FindLaw's Common Law)
- The Yelp Question: Are Free Online Reviews Good? (FindLaw's Free Enterprise Blog)
- Chicago Injury Attorney Directory (FindLaw)
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