How NOT to get sued for writing a bad Yelp review?
In my second lawsuit of the month . . .
I hired an expensive lawyer to expunge a DUI from my record, and he dropped the ball. He didn’t even file the paperwork.
So, I wrote a bad review about him (we’ll call him Brian) over at Yelp. Now he is threatening to sue me for $50,000 if I don’t remove the review by the end of the month.
I’ll admit that my review needs to be modified; I got emotional and didn’t stick to the “facts.”
Yelp’s legal team wants to put a “warning” on Brian’s business page, but they need my permission to do it. It’s basically a text box that calls him out for potentially trying to silence his critics by threatening to sue them.
It looks like this, if you’re interested: https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2016-07/25/14/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane03/sub-buzz-32240-1469469745-10.png?downsize=700%3A%2A&output-quality=auto&output-format=auto.
I seek your advice on what to do about my review (delete it entirely, modify it, leave it as it is and let him sue me), and whether to let Yelp post their warning.
I guess I could also try to play hardball by telling Brian that if he gets my DUI expunged LIKE HE WAS SUPPOSED TO DO IN THE FIRST PLACE, THEN will I modify and/or delete my review. But that’s a bit risky.
I promise not to sue any of you for giving me your opinions.
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9 Answers
I know it sucks but why not delete it and just have it go away?
I consider a DUI one of the worst things you can do (LYFT is cheap) so you aren’t getting a lot of sympathy from me. And others who might be in charge of deciding the case if you go further might feel the same.
Just kill the slimy fucker & hear him Yelp!
If you were being threatened for telling the truth, I would keep fighting.
Since it sounds like you exaggerated, the lawyer is right to protest. It seems very unfair, then, to potentially damage his reputation by putting up that warning.
I would remove the review and write a new one to reflect what actually happened. Then I’d try to work on staying honest even when it’s hard.
If it was me I would be knocking on his door asking for my money back instead of writing reviews. Without reading your review I cannot offer an opinion but I do know you can get your point across about a less than satisfactory experience without being inflammatory.
Yep, delete. Unless its worth 50k. If you have a payment receipt and contract, call the bar association and BBB. Far more effective.
If you dont have proof, delete it and move on.
I would NOT be coerced into deleting the review!!! However, since YOU feel that you were a tad bit unfair due to your being emotionally distraught, I would go in & modify the review to more align with what actually happened. YES, I would allow YELP to flag him with the modified review. I take it that your review might not be his first negative review.
I depend on others reviews when trying to determine who or what I plan on considering. I find the negative reviews to be just as important as the glowing reviews.
You might also consider suing him for breach of contract for NEVER doing the job he was hired to do!!! You might also want to consider that when you modify your review that you add that he is threatening to sue you IF you don’t delete the review in its entirety. I find that part a lot worse than the fact that he didn’t do the job he contracted to do!!!
Always be 100% honest in your review and have proof to back up the facts.
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