Imagine suing customers who give your show bad reviews? Well, there are companies doing just that as I type. Wow! According to the story that profiled the review website Yelp, “In the last two years, at least five lawsuits–and possibly more–have been filed against Yelp reviewers. In California alone, in addition to the chiropractor’s case, two dentists have sued reviewers and a spa owner sued an ex-employee. A fifth case was filed, but does not appear to have ever gone forward. Yelp is not notified about all cases, and lawsuits brought in state courts are not always in legal databases, so it’s difficult to determine whether other cases have been filed.”
What I’m most interested in seeing with these cases is how Yelp or the other websites that allow reviews could be effected. Consumers rely on what other consumers have to say and that trend is only on the rise online. It’s something to keep an eye on although I think the law suits mentioned in the following story are just ridiculous.