Chiropractor Sues Over Bad Online Review

San Fran libel case could break back of review sites

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 8, 2009 8:02 AM CST

(Newser) – A chiropractor's lawsuit has the potential to break the back of the online business-review industry, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. The bone-cracker is suing a client who posted a complaint on review site Yelp that suggested he was dishonest with insurance companies. "I think he is trying to scare me into removing a negative post," says client Christopher Norberg.

"There needs to be some sort of blowback against unfettered speech," says one lawyer. And experts say the case cuts to the marrow of online free speech issues and raises questions about whether third-party review sites can survive. A lawyer for the chiropractor—whose business has dropped since the review—said that while negative reviews are fine, Norberg had made false statements of fact in accusing his client of insurance fraud.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (2)]

Chiropractor Steven Biegel is suing a customer who criticized his billing practices in an online posting to Yelp.com. (Yelp)

A lawsuit over a bad online review could have serious implications for sites that publish third-party reviews. (Shutter Stock)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

I feel as a consumer I have a voice and that I can use it on forums made for sharing it, especially when I feel that the experience was unsatisfactory. - Christopher Norberg, who is being sued for posting a negative review online

Sites that are seemingly well intended are turning into wastelands of defamatory and unspecified allegations. There needs to be some sort of blowback against unfettered speech.
- Aaron Morris, a partner with Morris & Stone LLP in Orange County

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Getty Images

White Grandfather Cuffed for Walking With Black Granddaughter (NewsOne)

Man in Mugshot Explains Why He Has Half a Head (HuffPost)

These Exes Were Spotted Making Out … and That's a Bad Thing (Bleacher Report)

Help! I'm Having an Incestuous Relationship With My Twin (Slate)

Proof that Twitter Users are Sexier Than Facebook Users? (GeekSugar)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 3 of 3 comments

wrongedpatient

Aug 28, 2010 3:55 AM CDT

I just had the same thing happen to me. Had a botch procedure. Posted the facts and then received a letter from the doctor's lawyer's office demanding that I take down my post immediately. The odd thing is that the doctor responded to my post in an email accidentally using an alias that match a prior glowing post. That prompted me to look at the rest of the posts and they are all almost identical to that one in tone, context and exhaustive flattery. Either this guy is more popular than lady gaga or he's writing his own reviews.

HiFlyer

Jan 7, 2009 11:44 PM CST

I had a crooked chiropractor show me the X-rays of a Spina-bifida patient and tell me it was my daughter. He was trying to sell me services she did not need. Then he charged the insurance company for the treatments he gave her prior to my intervention. What a crook...I don't trust Chiropractors at all.

Thinker

Jan 7, 2009 9:05 PM CST

Consumer rights need more power, not less. Doctors get away with murder, insurance agents lie, medspas, realtors and brokers offer misleading claims to induce their clients to buy and the only existing means consumers have to protect themselves and to ensure accountability among these groups is to engage in widely advertised complaints. Don't take away legitimate means of complaining because a few misuse the system.

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds Major Cash Inside

Study Finds Arsenic in Baby Formula, Cereal Bars

San Francisco Chronicle (Source Grid »)

Yelp user sued over bad review
CNET

Suit could kill review sites
Marketing Pilgrim

Lawsuit gets a lousy review
PC World

Technology • Crime & Courts • Lifestyle

Internet • free speech • libel • Internet libel • lawsuit • reviews • online review

More Newser Stories

Food Blogger Jailed for Complaining About Noodles

Judge ruled Taiwan woman didn't have the evidence to declare them salty

(NEWSER) - Be careful what you blog about in Taiwan. One woman, identified only as Mrs. Liu, learned that lesson the hard way recently, after she complained on her little-read blog about the Sichuan Flavor Beef Noodle Restaurant in Taichung. The place, she wrote, was full of cockroaches, the owner was a “bully,” and the noodles were “too salty.” The enraged owner sued for defamation, the Telegraph reports. More»

Model Sues Google Over 'Skank' Diss

Vogue star demands company reveal identity of blogger/insult-slinger

(NEWSER) - A Vogue model is suing to force Google to unmask a blogger responsible for a slew of catty comments about her. The blog, on a Google-owned site, labels Liskula Cohen "psychotic" and a "skanky" superstar. "We think we have a case," her lawyer told the New York Daily News. "This is libelous, it's defamatory, and you shouldn't just get away with this." More»

Food Critic Grilled Over Steak Review

Steamed chef may force Philly writer to reveal identity in court

(NEWSER) - A miffed chef is suing the restaurant critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer after he reviewed a $15 slab of steak as "miserably tough and fatty." But the suit could be even more of a raw deal than expected for writer Craig LaBan, who was ordered to give a video deposition that could jeopardize his cover. More»

Judge: Blogger Is Not a Journalist

Woman ordered to pay $2.5M for online defamation

(NEWSER) - In what could end up being very bad news for outspoken bloggers across America, a federal judge has decided that a blogger was not acting as a journalist when she accused an Oregon lawyer of acting unethically and illegally as a trustee in a bankruptcy hearing. The judge denied Crystal Cox's request for legal protections customarily offered to journalists, and a jury subsequently ordered her to pay $2.5 million for defaming lawyer Kevin Padrick and his company. More»

Vicious Small-Town Gossip Gets Online Forum

The virtual stuff is anonymous and nasty

(NEWSER) - It’s small-town gossip 2.0: Tiny towns in the Ozarks, Appalachia, and elsewhere are increasingly turning to the Internet for local chatter—and when posts are anonymous, they can get nasty. On sites like Topix.com, cruel rumors get started virtually, and true or not, the fallout can be disastrous. Topix is a “cesspool of character assassination,” a Missouri diner owner tells the New York Times , and “in a small town,” adds neighbor Jennifer James, “rumors stay forever.” More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Chiropractor Sues Over Bad Online Review