Defemation to a business

[lirtation]

I own a small local fine dinning restaurant. We are a scratch kitchen so all our food is prepared to order. We do not carry invenotry. We buy everyhting the same day. We pride ourselves on being fresh.

Last week I happened to recieve a phone call from a customer who said that he, his wife, and their small child got sick after eating at our restaurant. He said he wanted his money back for the meal which he put on his credit card. He couldn't point out to any specific dish that all 3 of them shared, and stated that everything seemed very fresh when they were eating it, but stated that since they all got sick then it must be some kind of overall contamination in the restaurant. Not a single person got sick, and we served over 300 meals that weekend.

This guy yesterday called the local radio station and on the air said that we give spoiled food, and we made his whole family sick. I don't know what kind of effect this is going to have on my business, but I'm sure it won't help. Can I recover damages if there is a suddent drop in busienss, and sue him for defemation/libel?


Thanks

Alex

 

[BelizeBreeze]

U.S. Law ONLY!

 

[lirtation]

this is in the state of ny

 

[rmet4nzkx]

Did they make a complaint to the health department or get tested? There have been outbreaks of E-Coli from fresh or organic foods due to contaminated water, green onions or rare meat are examples, but this usually causes more wide spread outbreaks, so an outbreak isolated to one family may be from another source.

 

[lirtation]

No complaint to the dept of health, no visit to the emergency room. No widespread outbreak, just one family with a vendeta.

Alex

 

[stephenk]

how did you find out about the radio broadcast? Have you called the radio show to see if you can give your version of the events?

 

[EvilWizard]

If the person ate at your restaurant and got sick afterwards and believes it was the food that made them sick then how is it libel?

 

[casa]

If the person ate at your restaurant and got sick afterwards and believes it was the food that made them sick then how is it libel?

Because they cannot prove it's true since there was no medical treatment or complaint determining it was the food they ate in the restaurant...and they said on a radio broadcast the restaurant served them tainted food, which could result in a significant loss of business to the restaurant.

OP: Can you get a copy of the broadcast? Have you noticed a decline in business since the broadcast?

I recommend you hire an attorney.

 

[xavier2000]

While often used to mean the other, I think if anything, this is slander.

However, the statment was not knowingly false. It could have been the opinion of the customer that it was your food that caused it. Opinion is protected.