Sued over bad review??

P. S. I updated the original post...

 

As an attorney, my first thought was that the "liability form" was probably a release agreement, which if I had drafted it for one of my clients, would include confidentiality, non-disclosure, and non-disparagement clauses that would prevent posting of negative reviews. If that was the case, the moment he posted publicly about it there would be an action for breach of contract, for breaching the release agreement.

What was the title of the "liability form"? How long was it? If you want to pm it to me i'd be happy to take a quick look.

 

Your first sentence contradicts your second. How think can I get, what planet am I on... etc etc. These are not typically used in "constructive" discussions.

I still think his anger is misplaced and I certainly don't need validation from you to believe that.

 

I see you stated that you edited your review to be "100% factual" and without "opinion." Did you get a little heated in your first review?

I really do feel for you because you've been through a lot and it sucks. I'm sure we all have similar stories. I'm sorry you had to go through it.

Unfortunately the best way to handle this is cut your losses and move on, IMHO.

 

well i called him a butcher etc lol....opinions....

 

Hahahahaha!

Look I certainly can't blame you for what you did! I'd be mad as hell... you got screwed and wanted some satisfaction. I don't blame you at all, but unfortunately it didn't make matters any better, only worse.

You're out $130 and a ton of time. But you've got air in your lungs, blood in your veins, and the sun came up this morning.

By the way, I think an honest, emotionless review is totally justifiable. If they take it down... well, you tried.

 

I was forced into signing an illegal divorce contract with my Ex or I'd face millions ot "buy my freedom". At that stage I should have punched them in the nose and left.

I left very negative reviews of her lawyers stating "I feel like they are criminals". How I feel is my own right. If I said they are criminals I'm sure I would have heard from them.

Leaving reviews can be very powerful.

 

I am not so sure. Maybe they appreciated it. If you tell me a lawyer is a criminal, or that you feel he is a criminal, I think "wow, he/she must be a great lawyer. I kind of want to hire them!"

 

I believe that the standard for defamation in Canada is a bit weaker than here in the U.S. For example, for libel you do not need to show damage.

Importantly, I do believe though that under Canadian law, like the US, the burden is on the plaintiff to show that a statement was untrue.

 

^. Tell them your lawyer is Johnnie Cochran.

 

I should hope so lol

 

In some societies (e.g. the UK) the standard is much lower. For example, a claimant need not prove that the statement was untrue. This is a defense, the burden of which falls on the respondent.

 

I write reviews for everything I buy. I would tell them to go pound sand if this happened to me. Now, if I signed a non-disclosure agreement and was asked to remove my review then I would likely comply.

Here's a example of a review I wrote and posted on 7 different food sites. Including the restaurants own site.

You wrote a review for Slices Pizzeria
2 months ago

2/19/2018
Short story:
Stay Away!!!! Go to Domino's or Seasons or anywhere else.

Long Story:
I needed pizza for a party for my Mom and some of her friends at the nursing home nearby. I walked into the store at around 12:44 and ordered 2 large plain pizzas and 2 large pepperoni pizzas which I wanted delivered at 2:30 that day. The pizzeria is approximately 10 minutes away from the nursing home. I thought this would work. That wasn't the case.

I called at 2:35 and asked where they were and was told the driver would be there any minute. They lied. Ultimately they arrived at 3:07 (not cool when you are dealing with group of seniors on specific schedules)!!! Then to add insult to injury, they brought 3 cheese pizzas and only 1 pepperoni!!! They had online coupons and I notified them at the time of ordering so 2 large cheese pizza's should have been $19.99 and a large 1 topping should have been $11.99. By my math that is $44.00. Add tax, x 6% = $46.60. The total was $51.80 and that's because they charged me $11.99 + $2.00 x 2 for the pepperoni pizzas. Then they charged me another $2.00 for a delivery fee. I guess in my haste to get to the nursing home to decorate and set up for the party I failed to question the receipt so the extra charges and delivery fee are stupidity on my part but pretty shady on theirs.

Complete failure as far as I am concerned. The pizza had a good flavor but was extremely greasy.

Oh, only one box contained one of those garlic sauce things. Not sure why they all didn't have one and it wasn't needed but if you are going to throw one in a box, put one in every box.

I guess sometimes trying to save a buck doesn't always pay off. It will be Domino's or Seasons for me next time. Sorry Slices, you just don't cut it.

Rob

So what I am saying is, and by no means does this compare to what happened to the OP, except for all I am doing is stating the facts and trying to help others not make the same mistake, but we shouldn't be afraid to tell others when the services we pay for sucks. Also, I will quickly write a gleaming review if I am happy with the services I receive. I'm no lawyer and I don't do facebook, or see the original review, or the agreement but I almost have to agree with both sides here. Sucks to have to give in but also better than being legitimately sued for $130 bucks down the drain.

 

I missed the part where you told them to go fuck themselves.

 

Something similar happened to me. Landscaper completely sucked ass and I gave a review accordingly on Angie's List. A month or so later I get a letter from an attorney that's 2 hours away that is a divorce attorney. They wanted me to amend my review and give him all A and B ratings in each category or they'd sue. I figured it was just some lawyer friend of his. I also have a lawyer friend. She looked at the letter and said the same thing. Said everyone in the office was cracking up about the letter. I basically told the lawyer that him and his "client" could fuck off and if that didn't work then I'd see them in court. Never heard a peep since. Fuck getting bullied for posting an accurate review. If the dude didn't like it then he should have done a proper job. Ended up contacting Angie's List about what happened and they kicked him off the site.

 

If the wheels don't fit, you must acquit

 

Looks good, but please tell us you also posted their letter in your review!

 

Hey Chris, just curious as I read your post - as a lawyer, what’s your view of putting non-disparagement clauses in sales contracts vs. the US Federal laws protecting consumers rights to post them, e.g., the Consumer Review Fairness Act? I believe that law says such contracts are illegal. Does it have ample protections for posting factual negative reviews online? As a Reviewer, it would be good to know. Thanks!

 

OP just reply with this

 

I know you didn’t ask me, but I’ll chime in anyway. While CRFA has many consumer protections in place, it does not protect certain behavior. CRFA states in part:

The law says it’s OK to prohibit or remove a review that:

1. contains confidential or private information – for example, a person’s financial, medical, or personnel file information or a company’s trade secrets;
2. is libelous, harassing, abusive, obscene, vulgar, sexually explicit, or is inappropriate with respect to race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, or other intrinsic characteristic;
3. is unrelated to the company’s products or services; or
4. is clearly false or misleading.

However, it’s unlikely that a consumer’s assessment or opinion with which you disagree meets the “clearly false or misleading” standard.

Also, it’s just bad business for a company to get messy like this over a review. Most legitimate companies won’t do this. Instead, they will try to work it out with the customer or post a response trying to smooth things over. Absent OP committing clear libel and clearly being untruthful to the point of damaging the company, this company should chill out. Even then, they won’t get much love from a judge. They also won’t win any future customers doing this crap. Their behavior could be a reflection of their corporate health/pulse.