An appeals court in Florida has upheld a $350,000 judgment for a lawyer who sued a former client for defamation over negative reviews that the client posted about the lawyer on the internet. In this case the client had posted reviews that claimed the attorney charged the client “four times the amount of fees originally quoted, that she lacked integrity, and that she falsified a contract.” The court of appeals rejected the defendants First Amendment argument holding that their review had made factual allegations that the evidence showed to be false. The reviews that a person posts online can have a negative impact on a person’s livelihood, especially if they are making false and libelous allegations about that person.
See Lawyer Awarded $350,000 Based On Negative Online Reviews Posted By Former Client, Law Office of Donald D. Vanarelli, January 22, 2016.
