Tag Archives: Slander

Are Your Consumer Contracts Being Invalidated By The Consumer Review Fairness Act?

On March 14, 2017, the Consumer Review Fairness Act (CRFA) will officially invalidate a whole bunch of consumer contract clauses that pertain to online reviews.

During the last decade, we started hearing reports about professionals using form contracts to prevent their clients or patients from publishing negative online reviews. Here’s an example of how it worked: You showed up for a dentist appointment and,… More

How To Disparage But Not Defame Your Wedding Planner

It’s March, which means that wedding season is nearly upon us. Let’s say you run your own wedding-related business with one employee: you. A customer gives you a review on the internet that is not only negative, but contains false statements.  Who is harmed by this false review: you, your business or both? And if you want to sue the former customer, what is your cause of action?… More

Defamation Takes A Holiday: Slander And The Salem Witch Trials

witch-hillHypothetical: You go out for a nice stroll one Halloween only to have a neighbor emerge from his house with a pitchfork and accuse you of being a witch in front of the whole village. For the sake of argument, let’s say you are not actually a witch. Can you sue for slander?

For centuries, a civil defamation lawsuit has been available as a remedy —… More

Defamation and the Common Interest Privilege in the Construction Industry

Construction guyConstruction projects often involve a complex array of contractors, subcontractors, banks, bonding agents, architects, engineers and so on.  With that many parties depending on each other to complete a project, negative statements about the quality and integrity of other peoples’ work often arise. Such statements, if false, may give rise to defamation claims. However, even a false statement may be protected from liability by a “common interest” privilege.… More

What is More Defamatory? A False Accusation of Homophobia or of Homosexuality?

1In July 2014, Judge Barbara Jaffe of the New York Supreme Court dismissed the defamation claims in Kramer v. Skyhorse Publications. Kenny Kramer, the real life inspiration for the beloved eponymous Seinfeld character, had sued comedian Fred Stoller and his publisher because Stoller had written that a guide on the “Kramer Reality Tour” was shouting the catch phrase “not that there’s anything wrong with that” at passersby in Greenwich Village,… More