Is this defamation per se?

[mrsjohnson]

What are your damages caused by the false statement to Paypal?

Paying higher interest for a working capital loan; chargebacks, even when resolved in our favor indicate some risk verses someone that has never had a chargeback or claim filed against them. One dispute indicates that more may follow?

It also stressed me out emotionally and spent time spent defending the claim. Do I have to have actual damages for a defamation case or does it just help to have actual damages? I'm not clear on how this works but it helps me ask the right questions when I speak to an attorney.

 

[mrsjohnson]

This forum is not a referral service...

How can I get the case law? Is there a database that I can join to find this information?

 

[Zigner]

Paying higher interest for a working capital loan; chargebacks, even when resolved in our favor indicate some risk verses someone that has never had a chargeback or claim filed against them. One dispute indicates that more may follow?

It also stressed me out emotionally and spent time spent defending the claim. Do I have to have actual damages for a defamation case or does it just help to have actual damages? I'm not clear on how this works but it helps me ask the right questions when I speak to an attorney.

Those aren't compensable damages.

 

[quincy]

Can I get the names of the attorney(s) that won their case? Maybe I should start with calling them.

The South Carolina Bar Association can help you narrow you search for a defamation lawyer, as can the Georgia Bar Association. You can, and should, ask the lawyers you contact for cases they have handled.

http://www.scbar.org

http://www.gabar.org

I tend to use fee-based services but several sites provide free online general access to laws, case law and research sources. Many law schools, for example, offer free access to their legal databases (check out Harvard, Stanford, Cornell).

Here is a link to the Law Library of Congress, Databases and eResources, that you might find helpful: http://www.loc.gov/law/find/databases.php

And, for your purposes, links to Georgia and South Carolina resources:

http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/state/us-ga.php

http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/state/us-sc.php

 

[mrsjohnson]

Follow up post

I decided not to hire an attorney to pursue this because of the expense involved. I did try to get the negative reviews removed from certain sites with zero success. I also ended up changing my responses to his reviews several times and he responded back but deleted his responses. As mentioned earlier, the wife also left a negative review to which I also responded. To date, their negative review garnered zero likes, even from their friends however my "final" reply to his review garnered a total of 15 likes, the majority from people that we do not know. Here is an "edited" copy of my reply:

We offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee; if you're not happy with our product, simply return it for a full refund. Mr. Moron, we�re very sorry that you�re unhappy with our product and services. You and your wife have left us many negative reviews across several sites, complaining about the custom door that you ordered but you�ve refused to return it for a refund, even when we offered to drive five hours round trip to Stupidville to pick it up to save you the expense of returning it. You even filed a chargeback with your credit card company in an effort get a refund and keep the door without having to return it. Please understand it is not our fault that your credit card company denied your claim; we responded to your claim honestly when they asked if the product had been returned and it had not been. Actually, we�re very confused as to why you would want to keep this door that is of such poor quality and too large for the opening to begin with. Regardless, we did credit your account for the installation fee since you where unhappy with our installation. However since your home was not ready for the install the first trip that we made out, we will not be able to credit the already deeply discounted delivery fee. We strive to offer the best products and installation services that we can so it helps to know when we fall short of that. It inspires us to work so much harder for our clients! Please contact us as soon as possible regarding the balance due for the door if you do not plan on returning it.

I truly believe that these people do this kind of thing often and I do not like liars at all. So we also decided to reported these people to various companies that keep lists of people that have ever filed a chargeback so they were blacklisted, so to speak. The message here to consumers is to please try to seek a resolution with a company and exhaust all efforts before filing a chargeback, something our client failed to do with us. Oh and tell the truth!!!!

Finally we updated our refund policies, terms and conditions, and do not build any more doors unless the client submits a measurement form PERIOD.

All in all, though the former client did leave the negative review, I think that it helped improve our business. And the negative review did absolutely nothing to impact our business from a financial standpoint. We are showing an increase in profit from last year of 125%. So I guess in our case, the decision to let it go wasn't a bad one.

To all that took the time to respond and offer their guidance and assistance in this, a very big THANK YOU!!!

 

[quincy]

I decided not to hire an attorney to pursue this because of the expense involved. I did try to get the negative reviews removed from certain sites with zero success. I also ended up changing my responses to his reviews several times and he responded back but deleted his responses. As mentioned earlier, the wife also left a negative review to which I also responded. To date, their negative review garnered zero likes, even from their friends however my "final" reply to his review garnered a total of 15 likes, the majority from people that we do not know. Here is an "edited" copy of my reply:

We offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee; if you're not happy with our product, simply return it for a full refund. Mr. Moron, we�re very sorry that you�re unhappy with our product and services. You and your wife have left us many negative reviews across several sites, complaining about the custom door that you ordered but you�ve refused to return it for a refund, even when we offered to drive five hours round trip to Stupidville to pick it up to save you the expense of returning it. You even filed a chargeback with your credit card company in an effort get a refund and keep the door without having to return it. Please understand it is not our fault that your credit card company denied your claim; we responded to your claim honestly when they asked if the product had been returned and it had not been. Actually, we�re very confused as to why you would want to keep this door that is of such poor quality and too large for the opening to begin with. Regardless, we did credit your account for the installation fee since you where unhappy with our installation. However since your home was not ready for the install the first trip that we made out, we will not be able to credit the already deeply discounted delivery fee. We strive to offer the best products and installation services that we can so it helps to know when we fall short of that. It inspires us to work so much harder for our clients! Please contact us as soon as possible regarding the balance due for the door if you do not plan on returning it.

I truly believe that these people do this kind of thing often and I do not like liars at all. So we also decided to reported these people to various companies that keep lists of people that have ever filed a chargeback so they were blacklisted, so to speak. The message here to consumers is to please try to seek a resolution with a company and exhaust all efforts before filing a chargeback, something our client failed to do with us. Oh and tell the truth!!!!

Finally we updated our refund policies, terms and conditions, and do not build any more doors unless the client submits a measurement form PERIOD.

All in all, though the former client did leave the negative review, I think that it helped improve our business. And the negative review did absolutely nothing to impact our business from a financial standpoint. We are showing an increase in profit from last year of 125%. So I guess in our case, the decision to let it go wasn't a bad one.

To all that took the time to respond and offer their guidance and assistance in this, a very big THANK YOU!!!

I am happy to hear the positive outcome, mrsjohnson. Thank you for the update.

It appears you made the right decisions for your business. I especially like your response to the negative review. It was nicely written. Your business offers some beautiful products so I am pleased your profits have increased despite the problems you have had with "Mr. Moron" and his wife.

I wish you much success, and no unreasonable customers, in the future.