Judge ordered to remove part of a negative review from Yelp

Ever thought a negative user review (or maybe a rant?) may cost you almost $1 Million? Jane Perez, a resident in Virginia, is sued for putting negative online reviews of a home contractor, Christopher Dietz, who did not do a job very well.

It also stated that a particular piece of jewellery was also missing during the time the contractor was working on her house. According to her, Christopher Dietz, the contractor, damaged her home, charged her for the work he didn’t do and also losing the jewellery  There was already a case against Ms. Perez for unpaid invoices and they happen to be high school classmates.

When Ms. Perez put a negative review about Dietz, she mentioned that he didn’t do the job well and also mentioned about the jewellery. According to Dietz, it affected his work opportunities, a personal insult of being labelled as a thief and mental suffering, being placed in fear, anxiety and harm to his professional reputation.

This isn’t the first time that someone was sued over a negative review in Yelp, but it does somewhat fall within the grey area of free speech and accusation. One can’t blame one as a thief without proof on a review. The judge told Ms Perez to remove the part where she accused him as a thief, but there is a case against her by Mr. Dietz for “defamation” and he is seeking $750,000.

Then again, there are those who make a living by putting positive reviews online. This may bring fear on those who put reviews to express their genuine dissatisfaction and genuine feedback.

Source: Huffington Post