Will Bad Reviews Make for Good Lawsuit?

Longshot suit, or harbinger of liability for online customer reviews?

We do lots of restaurant-picking and gift-perusing on Web sites premised largely on customer reviews, like citysearch.com, yelp.com or Amazon.com.

So we’re pretty interested in the outcome of this libel and unfair competition lawsuit that two big Bay Area landlords filed in the Northern District, against a bunch of Does who posted negative reviews on ApartmentRatings.com. The suit suggests the Does include people who aren’t really tenants, but competitors. It seeks, among other stuff, punitive damages, attorneys fees, and money to run “a corrective advertising campaign.”

[This brouhaha came to our attention today thanks to this just-filed motion (.pdf) to quash a subpoena of ApartmentRatings.com.]

Maybe those defense allies will succeed in getting the lawsuit kicked out of the courthouse, in part on an anti-SLAPP argument. And if not — well then, maybe you’ll have to think twice before you review your yogurt makers.

— Pam Smith