Woman being sued for online review
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July 23, 2013 |
A civil lawsuit claiming defamation was filed in
Bonner County July 16 by the owner of a
Sandpoint pawn shop, seeking $5,000 for alleged
defamation over a less than glowing online
review by a Boundary County woman.
At risk of becoming party to this suit, newsbf.com
publishes the full Google review here;
"After moving to North Idaho we tried this shop
several times and have NEVER had a good
experience here. We have both pawned items and
bought items from this location. Overall: Shop
is often closed during business hours. Once we
called and said we were driving from up North
and the owner said he would be there. We arrived
after a 45 minute drive to find the shop closed.
After two hours he still had not returned and
when we called the next day he said he often
closes for lunch or to tend to his other
business. Pawn: My son's PSP came back with porn
on it. My husband's brand new auto tool set came
back rusted and dirty. Also, he gave us only 20
dollars on a 250 gb new xbox 360 that a
different place gave us 100 on. Repeat business
does NOT matter to him. You can pick up items
for a year and he will never loan more. Buying:
My husband bought a box of 50 round 22 long
rifle ammunition in a Winchester Super X box for
16 dollars only to come home and find out that
the box had been filled with Aguila rounds that
only run about 6 dollars a box and are NOT
appropriate for a semi auto. Thank goodness
another place opened in Ponderay because this
place is terrible."
The suit is written in pen and tough to read,
but it appears that Bradley W. Harmon and Blaine
Jacobs, plaintiffs doing business as Five-0 Guns
and Pawn, 400 Cedar Street, Sandpoint, took
umbrage and filed suit against Virginia Kneib,
nee Jameson, Bonners Ferry, for allegedly
"malicious statements about Five O Guns and Pawn
on a public internet site."
That review, the suit claims, "will damage our
reputation in a small town setting."
"We actually have tried to contact the owner
several times to address our complaints,"
Virginia said, "but this only led to him banning
my husband from ever coming to his shop again
and accusing us of trying to scam him in
someway. Regardless, I am shocked that anyone
would take this to court. Does that mean he can
sue me for speaking my opinion to my friends and
family as well?"
By most definitions, a "review" is an opinion; a
tale of one person's experience in a particular
place, often a restaurant.
In most cases, a the owners of a business
subject to a poor review considers the merits of
the complaint and works to correct them.
In rare cases, they file suit for defamation,
seemingly forgetting that the right of free
speech is a treasure.
While it's too early to tell how this case will
ultimately play out, there is a high probability
that the owners of Five O Gun and Pawn will
learn another aspect of libel law ... truth is
an absolute defense. |
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