Defamation through an online forum. Is there any grounds to sue?

[saddlemaker]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

Ok, well let's continue getting the free advice before I consult an attorney.

I am a business owner who is outspoken on several forums about the state of the craft, the industry etc... rarely politics.

There are a few people on those sites who seem to delight in pushing my buttons. They are easy to push admittedly.

My question though is when they make statements of "fact" about my business, saying I cheated or stole or provide bad quality goods which are 100% untrue do I have any legal grounds to sue the people who said those things, or in the case of the speakers being unknown to sue the forum for allowing such attacks to be ongoing.

I have always been the type to ask accusers to show proof of their allegations and none have. It's not as if I am trying to hide any bad actions from being revealed. I have no problem with anyone who can prove their accusations and if I am in the wrong taking my lumps publicly. But I am at a loss as to how to combat the outright lies told by a few trolls who seem to get off on watching me respond.

And to be perfectly clear, I cannot simply ignore these comments. It is my personal experience in this business that if an accusation is left unanswered on the forums then a percentage of the readers will simply believe it at face value.

The defamations have definitely cost me business as I have met people who said they wouldn't buy my products based on the accusations which had a "ring of truth" to them. Later after they met me in person and got the story straight from me, they became customers.

My thought is that if I can successfully sue the ringleaders then it will serve as a warning to all others that they can't simply lie without facing consequences.

Do I have any recourse at all legally?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

... My question though is when they make statements of "fact" about my business, saying I cheated or stole or provide bad quality goods which are 100% untrue do I have any legal grounds to sue the people who said those things, or in the case of the speakers being unknown to sue the forum for allowing such attacks to be ongoing.

You have the ability to sue those who make on an online forum defamatory statements about you or your business or your products/services. Whether a suit has merit or not, however, will depend on exactly what was written and in what context. For example, sometimes debates get heated and insults will be tossed back and forth. What is said is often not meant to reflect the truth and is not taken to be true, even when in another context the words could support a defamation action.

Any lawsuit that does have merit would be against the person who made the statements. Most websites will be immune from civil actions under the Communications Decency Act, Section 230, unless they helped to create the statements or encouraged the posting of the statements.

To "unmask" an anonymous poster, you generally must file a civil action first, against a John Doe defendant, and, if you can demonstrate to the court that you have an action that can survive a motion to dismiss, the court can issue a subpoena for the defendant's account information, so your suit can proceed against a named defendant.

I have always been the type to ask accusers to show proof of their allegations and none have. It's not as if I am trying to hide any bad actions from being revealed. I have no problem with anyone who can prove their accusations and if I am in the wrong taking my lumps publicly. But I am at a loss as to how to combat the outright lies told by a few trolls who seem to get off on watching me respond.

Although it is hard to prove a negative, you can refute all false allegations. Proof of the truth of the statements can be necessary for any defendant if you file suit over the false statements, if the defendant wishes to use truth as a defense. "Opinion" can also be a successful defense to a defamation lawsuit, especially when the statements are made in a forum setting where a lot is said that is garbage, and accepted as such. Again, it depends on the facts whether the statements made against you or your company can, first, be considered defamatory (not all false statements are), and then, whether there is a legitimate defense available.

And to be perfectly clear, I cannot simply ignore these comments. It is my personal experience in this business that if an accusation is left unanswered on the forums then a percentage of the readers will simply believe it at face value.

The defamations have definitely cost me business as I have met people who said they wouldn't buy my products based on the accusations which had a "ring of truth" to them. Later after they met me in person and got the story straight from me, they became customers.

Because you feel you cannot ignore the comments, and because you have evidence that business has been lost as a result of the false statements, your best course of action is probably to sit down with an attorney in your area for a personal review of all facts. The attorney can review what has been written and can review the evidence you have of reputational injury - and, when false statements are made about a person in his trade or profession, this is often found to be defamatory per se and reputational injury will be presumed.

So, yes, there is the possibility that you have legal recourse, this especially if you have been identified by name on the forum and your business has been identified and you have suffered reputational injury as a result of the false statements that were made.

 

[saddlemaker]

Thank you. Place to file?

Can I file my lawsuits from Texas if it comes to that? Or do I have to find the home states of the defendants and retain attorneys there?

 

[quincy]

Can I file my lawsuits from Texas if it comes to that? Or do I have to find the home states of the defendants and retain attorneys there?

You are generally able to file in your home state, for online defamation suits, or in the home state(s) of your defamer(s). It can sometimes depend on where exactly the defamation is found online (what website is involved and its connection to the states involved).

Filing in the defendant's home state guarantees that the state will have personal jurisdiction over the defendant. Any jurisdictional fight can increase the costs of a suit considerably.

That said, if you don't know who the defendant is or where he lives, you are pretty much limited to filing the suit in Texas. If you do not think you can resolve the matter outside a courtroom, and you are seriously considering a suit, an attorney in your area can go over all facts and provide direction. Perhaps a letter from the attorney to the person in question, advising that legal action is being considered, can lead to the deletion of the comments - and a public apology/retraction. The attorney letter could be sent in care of the website administrator, if your defamer is anonymous on the forum.

Good luck.

 

[FlyingRon]

Note, that you may spend a lot of money and not get much redress for your efforts.

Famous attorney Louis Nizer describes many defamation actions as being akin to having mud splashed on your coat. You can aggressive attack it trying to remove it smearing it all over and making a bigger mess, or you can just wait and let it dry up and flake off on its own.

 

[quincy]

Note, that you may spend a lot of money and not get much redress for your efforts.

Famous attorney Louis Nizer describes many defamation actions as being akin to having mud splashed on your coat. You can aggressive attack it trying to remove it smearing it all over and making a bigger mess, or you can just wait and let it dry up and flake off on its own.

While it can be better with some defamation to ignore it and move on, when business reputations are involved, the damage caused by defamatory statements can often be too great to ignore. It really depends on the facts.

A fairly recent Harvard study showed that for every negative review published about a company, there was a corresponding drop in the company's revenue. With defamatory comments, the effects on a business can be devastating. Some businesses never recover.

Even when there is an award of damages against a defendant that is uncollectable, and the costs of the lawsuit must be "eaten" by the company that has sued, the amount of damages awarded in a winning lawsuit sends a clear message to the public that what was communicated about the company was false and the defendant lied.

Depending on what, where, and to whom the defamatory comments have been communicated, in other words, it can sometimes be best for a company to aggressively fight harmful falsehoods with a defamation lawsuit and, often, this is the best way to repair a company's reputation.