Editor’s Note: Christine Taylor, a graduate of UCLA School of Law, is an associate at Towne, Ryan and Partners P.C., a law firm with attorneys licensed in New York, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, Washington D.C., and New Jersey. Taylor has grown up in the camping industry, her family has owned three campgrounds in both the Kampgrounds of America Inc. (KOA) and Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort franchise systems.
Slander, libel, defamation — three words you hear people throw around every time they hear something about themselves, or their business that is unseemly or even just something they don’t like.
But is there really legal action available in the time of the Internet review?
Defamation is a false statement presented as a fact that causes injury or damage to the character of the person it is about, and slander and libel are types of defamation. Libel is an untrue defamatory statement made in writing, while slander is spoken orally.
In the case of online reviews, we are looking at libel.
Most campgrounds at this point have received an online review, whether solicited from its own website or found on a secondary site like Trip Advisor or Google Reviews. It may be accurate and glowing or terrible and full of lies — but it is now out there for everyone to see, attached to your business name.
As we know, many consumers pick their products, vacations and accommodations by what others have said – so when a false bad review comes in – can you sue the author?
Unfortunately, most reviews are protected under the 1st Amendment – the one that gives you free speech. A court can, however, find a reviewer guilty of defaming a business if they post factually incorrect accusations – that you can prove. You have to distill the review down to whether the author is expressing an opinion or asserting a fact. This is the difference between someone saying: “the owners of this campground are mean and unwelcoming” versus “this campground continues to operate without a license.”
What compensation might be available? A libel lawsuit can seek monetary damages for harm that was caused by the libel. This can include things such as pain and suffering, damage to reputation, loss of wages or ability to earn a living and the overall decrease in business.
But what about the company that allows the review – can you sue them? Short answer – No. The United States Communications Decency Act prevents lawsuits against websites for publishing third party content – including that unsavory review. As long as the website did not alter the meaning of the post – they are immune from any lawsuit.
If you find yourself with a bad review – don’t retaliate with possibly defaming material.
For example, a contractor who filed a lawsuit against a homeowner who criticized his work. The homeowner had accused the contractor of damaging her home, billing incorrectly and stealing from her. This looks like a perfect case of defamation and the contractor sued for lost business. However, the contractor himself retaliated by posting negative remarks about how she never paid and actually stole from him. Although the jury found that she had defamed the contractor – they in turn found that the contractor had also defamed her and awarded no damages. Retaliating cost the contractor what could have been a winning lawsuit.
Lastly, as I have stated before – lawsuits are expensive. Do you really want to pay an attorney tens of thousands of dollars over a bad review? You might pay more for the chance to win a lawsuit than you would possibly lose in business over the bad review.
Ultimately it is better to address the review with fact and a level head. Further, encourage your happy customers to leave you reviews to dilute the bad ones. Keep an eye out for good reviews and offer a discount to those who gave you five stars and as the youth have coined “ignore the haters.”
