Local Victory For Complainers!!! Kansas Court Of Appeals: Yelp Reviews Stay Winning

In the not too distant future . . . Regulation of speech on the Internet will become more intense and already we're watching the debate play out in the courtroom with increasing frequency. 

However . . . 

Americans have always enjoyed a greater right to complain than anywhere on the planet. 

Here's one glorious example of this 1st Amendment freedom upheld with a local connection . . .

"A plastic surgeon in Leawood, sued his former patient for defamation after she left a negative Yelp review of his practice, according to court documents. The Kansas Court of Appeals decided 2-1 that Swanson did not prove harm to his professional reputation."

One of the BEST & BRIGHTEST TKC readers weighs in . . . 

"The majority said since he was still booked solid he hadn't shown harm to his reputation.

"The dissenter didn't declare his reputation had been harmed but said that the trial court didn't err in sending the case to the jury to make such a determination, as his Yelp rating went down from 5 to 3.8."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Libel and Presumed Damages in the Internet Age

From Marcus v. Swanson, decided today by the Kansas Court of Appeals, in an opinion by Judge Gordon Atcheson, joined by Presiding Judge Stephen Hill: In this case, we must apply defamation law crafted 40 years ago to a decidedly 21st century set of facts.

Comments