Yelp review led to libel law suit. Anyone knows a good lawyer?

http://www.handelonthelaw.com/home/default.aspx
very helpful people!

 

You have littel to worry about. All I can figure is that you found a complete screw-ball of a judge (they are out there). First off, California has anti-slapp laws. Thus, unless he can prove you LIED, you win. You also get a good amount of money from him, plus your attorney's fees. Look up anti-slap laws in California. They are there specifically to allow anyone to say what they want, without the fear of being sued. Unless there's more to the case, this judge is a complete pinhead loser, and upon appeal, he'll be shown the door.

edit- but then, I don't know what you said. Libel is correct when someone lies, and that lie can be proven, and damage was sustained. Short of a proven lie, libel is nearly impossible.

 

I do not have a law degree, but remember libel from journalism classes in my undergrad years. Journalists hired by credentialed press organizations (eg, newspapers, wire services) tend to have well established legal guidelines. It's hard to nail them for libel, since they often have to check to facts, verify sources, etc. However, the world is a different place now with bloggers and avergage joes able to post anything on the internet. If you have proof to substantiate your experience/claims in your review, it probably wouldn't even be found libel in the US Supreme Court. For example, if I had a written estimate from an auto repair shop for $1000, then a bill for $2000 for the exact work done in an estimate, I probably wouldn't pay the extra and file a 1 star review on Yelp about my experience. If they claimed libel, I would have a clear case if my review stated my exact experience backed by written documentation. That's not libel on my part, it's fraud/disception on their part. OK, just my thoughts. Good luck with your case!

 

Said in best scooby do voice ""Uh oh, UH OH!"

I think half of STR may be served with all the smack talk against Dino and Ironhorse

 

I respect the advice Mojo has given... I was not so much just thinking about the appeal of the SCC judgement but the subsequent refiling of the case in superior court and the filing of an anti-SLAPP motion. This is from the CA jud. website:
[h=3]Appeal Your Small Claims Judgment[/h]When you appeal a small claims judgment, you ask the superior court to change the small claims court judge's decision. You will have another court hearing and must present your case again.

A small claims appeal is a "trial de novo" or "new trial." This means that the case is decided by a new judge from the beginning so you have to present your case all over again. Because this case is in the civil division of the superior court (and NOT in small claims court), you (and the other side) are allowed to bring a lawyer to represent you in the new trial.

IMPORTANT! This is different from an appeal of a motion to vacate. If the defendant did not show up at the original trial, he or she has no right to ask for a new trial. Instead, the defendant can only file a motion to vacate the judgment. If the judge denies that motion, then the defendant can appeal the judge's denial of the motion to vacate.

* * *

If the appeal is granted, that means Plaintiff will be able to refile its case in superior court and you were be served with a summons. Of course, the Plaintiff can elect not to refile and matter is concluded. If refiled, you will need to hire an attorney (you can represent yourself but its difficult) and the meter starts ticking. Attorneys, bless them, aren't cheap and need to feed their families.

I thought the limit for SCC in CA was $7500 although it may have been increased as I notice the poster mentioned a $10,000 judgement. After your appeal is granted (if granted) then frankly discuss with your counsel the costs and budget needed to defend the case. Anti-SLAPP aside (and Mojo correct me if wrong) you will not get back your legal fees defending a civil action in superior court; money spent is well, just money spent. You may be able to protec your costs if a proper 998 (offer of judgement) is filed.

Of course I don't know the situation, what was posted, whether or not the Judge was crazy whatever... only you know and can make this decision. The best advice I can give is to not get one's self in the situation to begin with. No problem with honest, truthful criticism but remember we all need to not go beyond what is necessary to make a point.

 

Be careful before jumping onto just any bandwagon.

I clicked the link and read a few of the reviews by the lady who claims to have been unjustly harrassed after posting an unfavorable review on Yelp. Her most recent review is a disjointed rant where she claims the assistant manager was drunk, where she throws a drink into the face of another patron, where her husband is ejected by security, and the police are called.

Maybe it's just my cynical nature, but this is not the sort of person I would consult for legal advice. On the other hand, if I was producing a TV show like "Cops" or "World's Dumbest," she would be at the top of my list.

 

review

Google keeps records of everything, if you know how to search for it.

 

In the U.S., libel law usually requires the plaintiff to prove that the statements are false - the burden of proof is on them to prove you lied, not on you to prove you told the truth. So I can't imagine what you might have said in a Yelp review that would earn a judgment against you, short of suggesting the restaurant owner had unnatural relations with the chicken carcasses before they were cooked and served. Get a good lawyer and you should be abel to get all or at last part of your legal costs back.

But, to avoid harrassment of this nature, this should probably be a lesson to everyone not to include anything other than opinion in an online review. The only statements of fact should be something to the effect of "We waited 20 minutes to be seated." or "Our water glasses were never refilled."

Please let us know what business this is after it all shakes out. The only appropriate response to a bad review is to fix the problems. If a restaurant owner or manager responds online at all, it should be to say, "I'm sorry you had a bad experience. Please come back, ask for me, and I'll give you half off your next meal." Honestly, if someone is so thin-skinned that their response to a bad review is to sue, they need to pick another line of work!

 

Mojo's legal advice for the masses (tell your family too):

1. Never talk to the cops about any crime where you even have a 1% chance of being the suspect.

2. Never let the police into your house. Walk outside and shut the door behind you. (you wouldnt let strangers into your house - and that's who police officers are: strangers) [also note, you can revoke permission to enter any time, just in case you forget rule #2 until they're already inside. State it clearly and succinctly that you are revoking any permission to be inside your home.] Let's remember that our countrymen struggled and died for these rights and freedoms. There is nothing wrong with invoking them even when you've done nothing wrong.

3. Always take the 5th.

4. For internet reviews, keep it opinionated and be very careful with facts that you want to pepper in. Don't take any liberties with the facts. Prefacing a statement with "In my personal opinion, ____" is a nice buffer (to a degree).

5. NEVER THREATEN REPORTING SOMEONE. This one is HUGE. Threatening legal-criminal action or reporting to some kind of regulatory or licencing agency is actually extortion. This is probably the most common law people unwittingly break on a regular basis. It's extremely broad. So this means you cannot threaten to call the police if your neighbor doesnt turn down the stereo. You cannot threaten to call the health inspector unless a restaurant refunds your money for getting you sick. Best advice: just do it. Walk the walk, forget the talking. The criminal penalties for extortion will ruin your life. It just takes one savvy recipient to turn your world upside down. (even attorneys fall into this trap and are convicted. example: divorce lawyer tells the other party, "give us the bank account numbers or we'll report your client to the IRS." - that attorney is screwed.)

 

Rule #6. Don't take legal advice (or medical advice) from people you don't know on the internet.

(no disrespect intended towards the previous person to post)

 

Yeah, but all the stuff about Dino is true

 

Mojo, thanks for the tips; I haven't needed them yet, but will remember your advice should I be in a compromising situation.

 

Interesting thread. I went back to the OP. It looks like the business is going after Giantschwinn for business income loss due to his review (and of course libel). I wish I could see the other reviews!! If this business was any good, then wouldn't those reviews drown out the bad ones? This business must have had poor reviews all-around and they decided to go after the most vocal one?
BTW, I wrote a Yelp review about a capoeira studio that my wife attended years ago. I complained about how the instructor was pretty much sexually harassing female students. Yelp removed my post off, because it was hearsay!! (now if my wife wrote the review, would they have kept it?)

 

Yep, everything is an OPINION. As long as it's your OPINION, in CA, you can't lose. No way..... But, as soon as you start saying things as fact, especially if untrue, that's when you run into problems. Also, Mojo is 100000% astute in saying that you can NEVER NEVER NEVER help yourself by talking. If you're even 1/100th of 1% guilty, talking will only hurt you....Oh, and nobody EVER has permission to search or look at ANYTHING, EVER EVER EVER.

 

I saw this a number of years ago and was relatively impressed by this law school professor's presentation of the issues in such a way that non-lawyers could really understand. An interesting, fluid presentation with lots of examples. Even though this is from a law school in Virginia, most of the important criminal procedure laws are based on US Constitutional rights and are applicable in California.

Do yourself a favor and watch this. You won't believe how naive you were about why it's important to exercise your rights.

[video=youtube_share;i8z7NC5sgik]http://youtu.be/i8z7NC5sgik[/video]




Yeah, people groan when they see the running length, but once the video gets started, they watch to the end. Trust me. Watch.

 

Good vid. Watched both presentations.

 

There's a part 2, with a cop, and pretty much the first thing he says is, the lawyer is right, don't talk to us

 

Part 2 is pretty good.

 

Sleepless nights are over, I am happy to inform you that we won the yelp libel suit in the appeals court. I can not thank MojoCP enough for lending a hand when I needed it the most. I knew the truth is on my side but losing in small claims court had me down on the justice system. I knew I had to appeal but I needed a lawyer to help my present my case. Several attorneys I contacted turned my case down because my case wasn't worth their time. MojoCP took my case because I was a fellow mountain biker not unlike when you see a fellow biker stranded on the trail with a mechanic failure, you stop to help. But this is not as simple as giving someone your spare tire, this involves countless hours of preparation for the case, researching past cases and rulings, writing a brief, taking time off from work and sacrifice your other billable hours to appear in a small claims court. He did all that because I was a fellow mountain biker and yes for justice! I could not have asked for better and thorough legal representation than what I got from MojoCP. Thank you my friend. I look forward to many more successful outings on the trail and not in a trial.

 

Great news.

I had a bad feeling this would not turn out in your favor.