Can you be sued for leaving a business or service a bad review online?

Posted by admin on July 27th, 2010 and filed under business review | 9 Comments »

I wrote of a library: "book stock small and outdated, computers run slow…Librarian kept myself and another customer with young child waiting in queue while she gossiped at desk. She knew we had been waiting for some time, but didn’t hurry to serve us…

Month later I got an email by who I presume was the librarian telling me she sent my comments to the police. It’s been three months and no police contacted me.

Can I be sued for a review like this?

Despite previous comments I want you to understand that you can be sued for just about anything…in a CIVIL court. That doesn’t mean that they’d win, it doesn’t mean it’d even go very far in a court of law, but it does mean that you’d have to pay for a lawyer to work through the process.

This tactic is actually used, quite commonly, by the Church of Scientology in an attempt to silence detractors.

That said, don’t worry about it in this matter. The librarian is a civil employee. She can’t privately sue regarding a city matter. She’d have to kick it up the chain, getting approval from a number of sources, before they even considered taking action. And a city cannot afford either the liability or bad press brought forth by an idiotic lawsuit of this nature.

9 Responses

  1. Señor Sñarky Says:

    Of course not. You better be careful of librarians though. They don’t horse around.
    References :

  2. Aaron Patton Says:

    IN MY OPINION:

    It’s not a criminal issue.

    She could sue you for it (this is America, you can sue for anything!) but it would get thrown out
    References :

  3. Pure Logic Says:

    No, nothing you typed was malicious or libel. You can report her… I probably would.
    References :
    Degrees/Logic

  4. Badge203 Says:

    Not if the information is true, and you have the proof to back it up

    The police will not even look at any such complaint, that is why in the 3 months you have not heard anything

    Relax, nothing is going to happen to you
    References :

  5. PooPooLaTrash Says:

    A review is an opinion. As long as you referenced your remarks in that frame and didn’t tell any abject untruths, you cannot (in the US anyway) be sued for libel.

    Btw, some states still have statutes allowing criminal prosecution for libel. However, your circumstances would not be considered libel, either civil or criminal.
    References :

  6. lovegrowler Says:

    The police aren’t coming , they are out solving crime,,,,so be sure to support them when asked. If you have that problem again,,,talk to the employer. If you are going to be a review anywhere, learn the laws pertaining to it. Ever hear of the 1st amendment?
    References :

  7. Marko Says:

    First off, libel isn’t a criminal offense, and second, what you did isn’t libel.
    References :

  8. Wynterbourne Says:

    Despite previous comments I want you to understand that you can be sued for just about anything…in a CIVIL court. That doesn’t mean that they’d win, it doesn’t mean it’d even go very far in a court of law, but it does mean that you’d have to pay for a lawyer to work through the process.

    This tactic is actually used, quite commonly, by the Church of Scientology in an attempt to silence detractors.

    That said, don’t worry about it in this matter. The librarian is a civil employee. She can’t privately sue regarding a city matter. She’d have to kick it up the chain, getting approval from a number of sources, before they even considered taking action. And a city cannot afford either the liability or bad press brought forth by an idiotic lawsuit of this nature.
    References :

  9. TSW Says:

    If it’s true and you have proof. NO.
    If you do not have proof it’s true.
    Yes.
    That’s deformation of Corrector.
    If you accuse be dam sure of your facts. Have documentation to back it up.
    References :

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