Va. Court Decision Defends Right to Comment Online

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A decision by the state Supreme Court, which removes an injunction against a Fairfax County woman who was sued for posting a negative review about the work of a local contractor, pleased Internet rights advocates.

Dissatisfied with the quality of the work on her home by Dietz Development of Springfield, Jane Perez posted a scathing review on opinion site Yelp. The Washington Post reported that last month Christopher Dietz, owner of the company, sued Perez for $750,000 in damages claiming her post damaged his company. Dietz said "plaintiffs have been harmed by these statements, including lost work opportunities, insult, mental suffering, being placed in fear, anxiety, and harm to their reputations." Dietz previously sued Perez for outstanding invoices on home improvement projects, which she claimed was for work he never performed. She won the case in a summary judgement. Last month, the Fairfax County Circuit Court ordered Perez to delete some of the accusations in her post while the lawsuit is pending. In her Yelp posting, Perez said "Instead of doing the work as required by the contract, Dietz left me with damage to my home, and work that had to be redone for thousands of dollars more than Dietz originally estimated." She also connected Dietz's company to jewelry that was missing from her home. However, Dec. 28, the highest court in the commonwealth removed the injunction following a joint appeal filed by advocacy groups Public Citizen and the American Civil Liberties Union. "Public Citizen argued that the contractor could get damages if, after a full trial, a jury agrees that Perez made false claims about him that meet the standard for libel. Because such a process has not occurred, forcing Perez to remove her comments amounted to censorship," the group said in a statement. According to Public Citizen, the decision supports the First Amendment rights of consumers. “The decision confirms the importance of not shutting down public discussion on the Internet just because someone doesn’t like what’s being talked about,” said Paul Alan Levy, an attorney for Public Citizen. “Review sites like Yelp are vehicles for the free flow of ideas by helping consumers make informed decisions on how to spend their hard-earned dollars.”
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