Many business owners who see 1-star ratings or blistering comments understandably want to mitigate the damage they can inflict. But how a business responds to a bad online review can be just as impactful as the review itself. Attempts to counter or respond to a vocally disgruntled customer in kind may wind up amplifying the review or subject the business to further scorn, ridicule, and bad publicity in a fickle and fast-moving social media universe.
From time to time, we get a call from a client who is deeply worried, angry, or indignant about a scathing review and wants to sue the poster for defamation. The answer is, of course, yes. You can sue “YourBusinessIsAwful123” or whoever made the post. Anybody can sue anybody for anything, but that doesn’t mean a case has merit or is a smart move business-wise. When it comes to suing a person for posting a negative review, the reality is that much of what reviewers write in even the most scathing negative reviews will likely not qualify as actionable defamation.
Additionally, business owners typically cannot pursue...
Three Oklahomans have been charged as part of a federal crackdown on health care fraud throughout the United States. More than 450 people, including doctors and nurse practitioners across 45 states...