At least 2 or 3 times a week I get a call from an anguished business owner about a negative review on the internet. Sometimes it's on Yelp, other times it's on other sites like Citysearch, Ripoffreport, or Avvo. Negative reviews can be extremely damaging to a business, but in many cases, it's best not to get too upset about them, unless they appear credible and they are … [Read more...] about How to read a consumer review
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Mandatory Attorneys’ Fees To Prevailing anti-SLAPP Defendants
California's anti-SLAPP statute (CCP § 425.16(c)) provides that a "prevailing defendant on a special motion to strike shall be entitled to recover his or her attorney's fees and costs. The fee award is not discretionary--it is mandatory--and the fees can be very significant. The purpose behind this rule is to discourage strategic lawsuits against public participation … [Read more...] about Mandatory Attorneys’ Fees To Prevailing anti-SLAPP Defendants
How To Deal With A “Scam” Listing For Your Company’s Name
One of the most devastating listings you can have is a "scam" listing for your name or your company's brand name on the Internet. I know this because people call me nearly every day and tell me that someone has written something defamatory about them on the Web. However, there are ways to deal with this, and one particular dynamite strategy which I stumbled across … [Read more...] about How To Deal With A “Scam” Listing For Your Company’s Name
A Little Known Requirement in the California anti-SLAPP Statute
I was not surprised last week when a Judge said that anti-SLAPP is a complicated area of law—it most certainly is. There are well over 350 published decisions on the subject, including several California Supreme court decisions. I often tell other lawyers that they need to be very careful in crafting their papers in support of or in opposition to an anti-SLAPP motion. One … [Read more...] about A Little Known Requirement in the California anti-SLAPP Statute
What Are The Elements Of A Cause Of Action For Trade Libel?
In reviewing some of the topics that we've covered on the California Defamation Blog, I noticed that the topic of Trade Libel is conspicuously absent so I'm going to fix this over the next few posts. Today's post is short and simple. Here are the basic elements of a cause of action for Trade Libe to get us started: Defendant's false statement; Publication; Of matter … [Read more...] about What Are The Elements Of A Cause Of Action For Trade Libel?