June 2023
Condo residents posting negative online comments about their community are protected from the corporation’s misuse of SLAPP legislation.
One company failed in their attempt to force a client to remove negative online reviews and has been ordered to pay more than $160,000 after it tried to “bully” the customer with a lawsuit.
Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation, or SLAPP, legislation is intended to allow the public to participate more freely in public discussions without fear of retribution or being sued. The legislation makes it harder for a larger organization to threaten a costly lawsuit to intimidate or punish opponents and discourage others from speaking out in a public forum.
In the judge’s ruling he stated “In my view, the plaintiffs brought this lawsuit to bully the defendants into removing their reviews from the internet so as to control the public narrative about the plaintiffs’ business and products.” In addition, he stated that online discussion among consumers about the quality of the products and service is a “matter of public interest.”
High-rise communities regularly have conflict between actions of a board or management, and residents. Taking such disagreements to a public online forum as is sometimes done by residents, while not always advisable, remains a legitimate response so long as information communicated is truthful and verifiable.
