Leaving negative ebay feedback gets a man sued for defamation of character.

[freebird73717]

Business owner Michael Steadman bought a $44 time clock on eBay, but never bargained for the $15,000 lawsuit he faces because his buyer's review ticked off the seller.




Steadman made the purchase in November 2008. But when he saw the shipped goods didn't match the advertisement, he expressed an opinion about the South Florida lawyer who offered the item on the Internet: "Bad seller; he has the ethics of a used car salesman."
That comment about the clock, which Steadman returned to Elliot Miller of Miami Beach, prompted a $15,000 defamation lawsuit. He said the lawsuit has cost him $7,000 in legal bills and his attorney quit because he could no longer afford to pay him.

Source

[lordsmurf]

He's protected by free speech on this one, seems odd that it's not already been tossed out.

I would not be surprised if the case ends with a summary judgment issued against the plaintiff, to repay for court costs, and possibly punitive damages for wasting the time of everybody involved.

[Supreme2k]

Oddly enough, I've had two such cases brought up against me.
The first was a defamation, like this one, but from a message board (less anonymous than this one).
The second was similar, but focused on "lost business".

Neither of them even made it to court. I didn't spend a penny in the combined cases. I thought about countering, but the satisfaction that justice prevailed (this time) was enough for me.

[freebird73717]

I just think it's sad that this guy had to spend money to fight this. Seems like the guy that brought the lawsuit is just trying to bury it in paperwork to the point that the guy just can't afford to continue to pay a lawyer to defend himself.

I agree with LS. I hope the thing does get tossed out and the guy get awarded his court costs for having to fight it.

[lordsmurf]

I would think all he needs to do is file for summary judgment, instead of playing paper with some ******* lawyer.

[freebird73717]

Beats me. Court systems make absolutely no sense to me.

To bad adam doesn't frequent the forums anymore. I'd be interested to hear his views on this.

[handyguy]

Should have left it under positive feedback but the same words.

[Supreme2k]

On one of my cases, the plaintiff was told that the very nature of the review system allowed for that type of wording and opinion. His "defamation" was MUCH nicer than what I wrote.

It's not surprising that this went through in Florida, the nation's ****.

[lordsmurf]

Florida, the nation's ****.

Never heard that one before. Funny!