It should. It happened two years ago here in Texas.
For details, read "Texas Law Firm Sues Client Over Negative Online Review at Yelp.Com." It includes a link to their original petition, as filed in the Travis County District Court.
California Court Orders Yelp to Remove Negative Review Held to be Defamatory
Different twist out on the West Coast, one that's getting lots of media coverage. There, a California personal injury law firm filed suit seeking damages allegedly resulting from a negative online review.
Difference here between the two suits? The California case includes Yelp being ordered to take down the review.
Spearheaded by plaintiffs' lawyer Dawn Hassell, the California law firm won at both the trial and appellate levels (admittedly easily done as the author of the online reviews failed to show up and "defaulted.")
Hassell's victory? That's big news right there. But there's more.
California Appeals Court Agrees With Court Order to Remove Negative Review
The California judge ordered Yelp to remove the defamatory online review from its site. And the California appeals court affirmed his decision.
Their reasoning? Read the appellate opinion: Hassell v. Bird, No. A143233 (Cal. Ct. App. June 7, 2016).
Yelp was not ordered to pay monetary damages to the law firm. (Doing so would arguably violate the California Communications Decency Act.)
Big deal here: Yelp was NOT a defendant in the California case. The law firm didn't sue Yelp. It came into the case after it was ordered to remove the review. Anyone else thinking about a possible due process problem?
California Supreme Court Reviewing Case; Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft Write to the Court
Bigger news. The "friends of the court" that are entering the arena.
It's reported that powerhouses including Facebook, Twitter, and Microsoft have written to the California Supreme Court. This is fine; it's called acting as a "friend of the court," or "amicus curaie."
Their letter warns Hassell's victory, if not reversed, will endanger free speech and otherwise do bad things.
Among others filing before the California Supreme Court wanting a reversal:
- Public Citizen - read their amicus curaie filing here;
- Reporters' Committee for Freedom of the Press - read their amicus here;
- RStreet - read their amicus filing here; and
- Bunch of Law Professors (letter by Professor Eugene Volokh) - read their letter here, as published by the Washington Post in Volokh's article dated August 19, 2016, that has some helpful background information.
Docket Information on Hassell v. Bird
Interested in what happens? The California Supreme Court Docket for Case S235968, styled Hassell v. Bird, is online and upon request, notices of new developments will be emailed to you.
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