Did you ever think posting fake reviews could get you in trouble? Yelp may be able to answer that question for you.
Yelp has launched a lawsuit against Julian McMillan for false advertising, breach of contract, intentional interference with contract and unfair competition. Yelp claims that he placed fake reviews in an effort to support his business. However, McMillan denies any wrongdoing.
This case is considered unusual because it is assumed that many fake reviews exist and have existed on Yelp. To make this matter even stranger, this case was filed not long before a San Diego judge was expected to make a judgment on an appeal by Yelp for a case that McMillan had filed earlier against Yelp.
For the current case, McMillan seems confident that Yelp will drop its complaint, because he plans to stay in the case until the company does. Yelp had made an attempt to settle the fake review case for $5,000, but McMillan declined the settlement.
What is Fraudulent Misrepresentation?
Fraudulent misrepresentation, such as false advertising, could be identified by the following criteria:
- It was knowingly made.
- It was made irresponsibly, without knowing if the representation was truthful or not.
- The party being deceived suffers a loss because they entered a contract with a business that fraudulently misrepresented itself.
If you feel that you are the victim of fraudulent misrepresentation, or if you feel that you are being wrongly accused of this offense, then you should seek an attorney that specializes in business litigation.
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[Did You Know? In a recent lawsuit, Yelp is being sued for refusing to reveal the identity of people who wrote seven anonymous comments.]
Klein Trial Lawyers — Business Litigation Attorney
Source: www.arstechnica.com