Steve Payne
Important legal battle over online reviews of contractors to begin Jan. 27 in Virginia
Canadian Contractor BusinessA potentially landmark court case, in which a Washington, DC renovation contractor is suing a client for negative reviews on Angie’s List and Yelp, is just two weeks away.
On Jan. 27, Christopher Dietz, the contractor, and the defendant who allegedly defamed him, Jane Perez, will meet in a Virginia court. The proceedings will be watched closely by contractor review website operators throughout the United States.
Dietz is seeking $750,000 from Perez, claiming Perez’s online slamming of his workmanship and honesty (she said “Dietz was the only one with a key” when her jewelry went missing during the reno) cost Dietz Developments $300,000 in lost business.
An excellent summary of the case so far was published by our American counterpart magazine, Remodeling, written by its editor-in-chief Craig Webb.
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It will be interesting to see if there’s a positive outcome for the contractor and then if anyone then takes a similar case to a Canadian court.
Online review sites are great to give the consumer an opportunity to research info on a business.
Unfortunately they are also an opportunity to maliciously attack a business without any repercussion. It’s hard for a business to defend itself once the comments are out there.