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Defamation and the First Amendment

1/3/2013

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Recently, we blogged about a case where a judge ordered a disgruntled customer to remove her colorful Yelp and Angie's List reviews about a contractor's services pending a decision on the defamation claims by the contractor.

The Supreme Court of Virginia just backpedaled substantially, vacating the injunction as premature.  In Virginia, at least, speech must be adjudicated defamatory before it can be silenced.  

No word yet on whether the contractor is moving forward with his claims for defamation.  Stay tuned.  
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Yelp Defamation and SEO

12/6/2012

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The UK Daily Mail Online reports that a contractor in Virginia sued a women for nearly $1M in damages, alleging she defamed him in reviews she posted on Yelp, Angie's List, and other services websites.  The case apparently has legs, as a judge today granted a preliminary injunction that the woman remove her scathing reviews (which allege shoddy work as well as theft) from the websites until the suit is resolved.  

This is not the first of such cases, but it may have a good chance of success anyway.  In 2011, a plaintiff cosmetic surgeon's case was dismissed and the surgeon ordered to pay $20k in attorneys' fees to a former patient who had posted a bad review. A computer graphics company in Florida sued a former client for defamation as well, alleging a 70% drop in business.  The outcome is still pending there.  

Defamation -- that is, a knowingly false statement published about someone or their business which causes damages -- can be expensive.  If you experience a loss in business as a result of false bad reviews, there are steps you can take instead of or in addition to suing for money damages.  The most important thing is to "stop the bleeding" and try to improve your "Search Engine Optimization" (SEO) so that the recent bad review is not the first thing that pops up when someone searches for you.

SEO can be expensive if you outsource, but it might be worth it to put the hours in yourself.  The goal is to frequently update your online presence.  If you don't have a website, get a free one and start blogging immediately.  Comment in a positive way on other websites while using your real name.  Use your online presence to promote other positive things -- maybe you volunteer at a soup kitchen, maybe you foster rescued puppies, maybe you crochet -- so that, over time, there are many positive associations with your name and your business, which may dilute one really stinky review.

You can also contact the sites directly, such as Angie's List, where the premise of the list is that the reviews are honest.  Initiate a dispute or complaint through their internal policies, particularly if the bad review contains gross lies that you can prove (for example, they allege you were paid but did not perform any work).  

ABOVE ALL, DO NOT RETALIATE DIRECTLY.  

I don't care how clever you are.  I don't care how biting your sarcasm is.  I don't care if you are the funniest comedian ever to run a plumbing company.  DO NOT ENGAGE or mention the name of the bad reviewer.  Do not badmouth them.  Do not make snarky asides about "some people."  Publicly denouncing a bad review has the OPPOSITE effect, especially regarding SEO.  (See more about the "Streisand Effect" here.  Simply, the harder you try to keep it quiet, the more attention you draw to it.)  

The search engines are programmed well.  It won't make too much impact on a search result list if you post 100 identical  blog posts about how great you are.  Give it time and thought, and vary your content.  On the other hand, mentioning the site where the bad review appears or the name of the bad reviewer gives them credibility in the search engine's algorithm.  
Stay on message:  you are a professional who works hard and gives good value.  You love puppies and baby ducklings and orphans in Ghana.

I repeat:  DO NOT ENGAGE directly.  Getting in a "flame war" online just makes you look unprofessional and mean.  For an example of snark gone horribly wrong, please check out the comments (made by the FOUNDER of a company) in response to a review of a competing product here.  Scroll down to Frank Rivera's comment starting on May 15, and don't imitate it.  
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