Venting Online, Consumers Can Find Themselves in Court [View All]

[ShockediSay]

Source: NYTimes

After a towing company hauled Justin Kurtz’s car from his apartment complex parking lot, despite his permit to park there, Mr. Kurtz, 21, a college student in Kalamazoo, Mich., went to the Internet for revenge.

Outraged at having to pay $118 to get his car back, Mr. Kurtz created a Facebook page called “Kalamazoo Residents against T&J Towing.” Within two days, 800 people had joined the group, some posting comments about their own maddening experiences with the company.

T&J filed a defamation suit against Mr. Kurtz, claiming the site was hurting business and seeking $750,000 in damages.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/us/01slapp.html

---

In my opinion,

anything published as an opinion is entirely protected by the First Amendment

e.g. "I think I was unfairly towed by T&J.

I think/thought my permit allowed me to park without the threat of towing."

I believe that anything expressed as a fact is subject to a suit for defamation
while matters expressed as an opinion are virtually if not completely protected
by the First Amendment.