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.  

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.Stay on message:  you are a professional who works hard and gives good value.  You love puppies and baby ducklings and orphans in Ghana.