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Virginia Woman Is Sued For $750,000 After Writing Scathing Yelp Review
First time accepted submitter VegetativeState writes "Jane Perez hired a construction company and was not happy with the work they did and alleged some of her jewelry was stolen. She submitted reviews on Yelp and Angie's List, giving the company all F's. The contractor is now suing her for $750,000. From the article: 'Dietz, the owner of Dietz Development, filed the Internet defamation lawsuit filed last month, stating that "plaintiffs have been harmed by these statements, including lost work opportunities, insult, mental suffering, being placed in fear, anxiety, and harm to their reputations."
Perez's Yelp review accused the company of damaging her home, charging her for work that wasn't done and of losing jewelry. The lawsuit follows an earlier case against Perez, which was filed in July 2011 by Dietz for unpaid invoices. According to the recent filing, the two were high school classmates.'"
by reputation.com
This is why the US needs to update its antiquated libel laws to be more like the law in the UK. Over here, if what she says is true then there is simply no way she can lose. In the US system, anyone can say anything - true or untrue - they like about anyone else (yes, even you) and unless you've got much deeper pockets than them there's nothing you can do about it.
In the UK, the person telling the truth wins. In the US, the person with the most money to pay for lawyers wins. I prefer our way.