Have You Or Your Business Been Defamed Through Fake Reviews On Google Or Yelp? Let Me Tell You How To Fight Back.
As a lawyer, I unfortunately had some trolls try to smear my name and ruin my business reputation. Fortunately for me, I can bring a lawsuit and take action. This is the business I am in. I’ve spent a great deal of time studying and investigating them. I uncovered their identities and then sued them. I also posted their names and faces online. Because they backed off – out of fear – I have backed off. I will put them on blast if need be. As the litigation I brought against them heads past the eight year mark, I am certain they regret now what they did. Also, the litigation gets picked up on-line by legal search engines. They get exposed that way too. The case proceeded with me defeating both anti-SLAPP motions (a motion to dismiss the case on First Amendment grounds and then be forced to pay their legal fees), defeated the appeal, and then defeated an appeal a second time after the case was sent to the California Supreme Court. The internet search engines are picking up the recent appellate opinion giving me the win, and will be tied to their names forever.
Would you hire or associate with someone who defames people anonymously? Didn’t think so. Trying to ruin a lawyer’s reputation is just asking for endless trouble. I won’t need a lawyer to bring you into my world, but you’ll need one to deal with me. I’m very much like Switzerland: leave me me alone, and I won’t bother you. Actually, I turned this into my advantage – I figured I’d learn all about defamation law, and then become great at it. I am now a recognized expert and have beaten many of the best lawyers in this arena. So, “thanks” trolls! I make excellent money handling these cases, and you get all the credit. I defeated at trial a pre-eminent defamation lawyer. Your attempt at hurting me has become a profitable practice area. I just won a defamation trial and obtained a six figure award, and a very happy client. You made that possible. I also told my hundreds of clients what happened, and they also came to my rescue. I know the lawyers at Google, so I know the process to get the fake reviews taken down. I also found that Yelp, Avvo and the BBB are very receptive to lawyers calling about being defamed. The people I am talking to are very sympathetic. They too, are lawyers, and they hate that their time is wasted and consider trolls to be human piles of shit. I get calls all the time to handle defamation cases, so I want to extend my thanks to you trolls.
I do not handle defamation cases on “contingency.” Very few lawyers do. Contingency cases are for personal injury lawyers, where they figure an insurance company is guaranteed to pay out something for taking the case. For those thinking that defamation is simply about what is “true” versus what is a “lie,” and that an “opinion” isn’t actionable, you’ll get your doors blown off by highly experienced defamation lawyers. This area of the law is the among the most nuanced and difficult to grasp and is constantly in tension with case law, its interpretation and application. My appellate brief was over seventy pages long and cited to more than 50 cases. Defining Constitutionally protected speech is never an easy task.
DEFAMATION TRIAL OVER FAKE YELP REVIEW LEADS TO A SIX FIGURE AWARD!
In June 2021, I won a trial at the Central Justice Center over a person that defamed my clients with a fake Yelp review. She was slapped with a six figure damage award. She hired fine defamation lawyers in her defense, and I am sure that cost her a lot of money too. If you are going to defame someone, at least have the presence of mind to enjoy it. Not only did she pay $100K plus for her defense, she had to pay my client six figures too. I am simply stunned at how stubborn people are. Take the damn review down, and we’ll leave you alone.
Fake reviews are actually a crime under both federal and state law. It’s called cyberbullying and cyberstalking. Meanwhile, a few things are happening. As I continue to pile up victories in this very interesting practice area, my name and reputation in the world of defamation law has skyrocketed. I have already argued (and won) all three cases I defended in the Appellate Court just in the last year. Along the way, I have defeated an appellate specialist, and a top lawyer in Orange County who argued anti-SLAPP law before the Ninth Circuit. I recently reversed a trial court’s awarding of two anti-SLAPP motions. From there, clients are calling me to help them deal with the bullshit I went through. I took a bad situation and turned into a new practice area I very much enjoy handling.
It’s now rampant, and a fact of life: fake reviews about companies and persons are everywhere. One restaurant in Washington DC – that had existed for 50 years – went OUT OF BUSINESS DUE TO FAKE REVIEWS. A jealous competitor posted numerous fake 1 star reviews. Think it doesn’t matter? You’re WRONG. A Nielsen survey says that 44% of persons look at Yelp before deciding whether to dine at a particular restaurant. If you do nothing, those posts continue to be seen by people who do not know you. Those posts continue to damage your name and reputation. When people “Google” your name, they will see them – forever. YOU MUST TAKE ACTION. You need the reviews removed and the anonymous posters held responsible. We will take it to them. The miscreants that lie about your business and your reputation with fake reviews are EVIL. They do not care that jobs are lost, that the owners are shunned publicly, and that the owners themselves are left bankrupt.
These idiots get a perverse pleasure out of trying to harm others. They stupidly think that unless someone sees them leaving a fake review, they cannot be caught. It doesn’t work like that. All I need to prove my case is 50.1% evidence – just a little more than theirs. Circumstantial evidence gets a bad rap in the public eye – but circumstantial evidence is evidence. It counts the same as “direct” (first-hand eyewitness) evidence. And if a jury is 50.1% convinced that you probably did do it, well, too bad for you. These trolls must be watching too many crime drama shows on television. What really happened is that someone never slugged them in the mouth to get them back to their default factory settings.
I View Fake Reviews Like Mosquito Bites: They Sting, But They Go Away.
If you were hit with fake reviews, don’t despair. It’s like a mosquito bite: it stings for awhile, but then goes away. Do not get upset and fly into a rage. Realize that there are evil people out there. Get the mindset of a business person: 1) have the review removed or pushed down in a Google search or delisted; and 2) track down the asshole who did it. In time, you will deal with them like any problem, and without the emotional anger. Instead, you’ll be like, “Oh, Google. Ok. Well, I have their number. I’ll call them and get it taken down.” Then, have about 15 more clients leave 5 star reviews and your online profile gets boosted more. Each fake review warrants 15 positive reviews. The troll will see that their 20 minutes of “fun” is boosting your overall business score. I now have over 120 positive Yelp and Google reviews. I have hundreds of clients who will come to my aid and post numerous 5 star reviews. I will then spend as many years as needed trying to figure out if it was you. Some of you have no idea what I have on you – your criminal past, the mugshots, your SWAT calls, etc. Trolls, like mosquitoes, offer nothing of value to society and attack when you are not looking. Put them in a courtroom, and watch them squirm. Just like mosquitoes, they avoid being in the light, and for good reason, like this bastard I found in my car while driving.
This Is A Troll And Their Value To Society
The Troll Will Face A Non-Dischargeable Judgment That Follows Them Forever And Public Shaming
Anyone like trolls and cowards who hide behind their keyboards? I don’t. The morons who do this shit usually have a lot of skeletons in their closet. Exposing them is actually quite fun. They can be put on Youtube, profiled on my website, have websites taken out in their name, and other fun things. Another point to remember: the judgment I obtain against them is NOT dischargeable in bankruptcy. Under Section 523(a)(6) – malicious acts are permanent debts, meaning my judgment will follow them for the rest of their lives. Yeah, I know, some of these persons are judgment proof, and I won’t see a dime. I can live with that. They will also face the stigma of being deemed a worthless piece of shit by the general public as the judgment gets posted to their credit report and is found online. The more litigation I generate, the more the search engines follow the case. There are many legal websites, such as Trellis, Findlaw, etc., that post these matters to the internet. Assuming they one day try to salvage their own reputations, my judgment will be stapled to their job applications and quickly found on a Google search. And who knows, maybe I’ll take out websites in their name just to make what they did permanent. I could put them on blast quite easily so that three generations from now they will still be mocked and hated.
Do not think that defamation lawsuits are quickly ended. In the case I brought against those that defamed me, the case was filed in April 2017, and as of July 2023, it still is continuing on.
You Only Have One Year To Sue For Defamation.
In California, you only have ONE YEAR FROM THE DATE OF THE POSTING to sue for defamation. There are some minor exceptions to this, including the interesting “self-defamation” claim, and for defamation found in rare journals. Even if more than one year has passed, there are other ways to still nail them – civil harassment injunction, an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim, felony cyberstalking, etc.
I’ve Turned Being Defamed Into A New Major Practice Area
I turned lemons into lemonade. In my quest to find out the trolls behind the attacks on me, I’ve learned a great deal about defamation law, and have been retained to handle large defamation cases. Just since April 2019, I have been before the California Court of Appeal to argue three defamation cases- and won them all.
My firm handles defamation and internet defamation cases – and we are very aggressive about it. My firm handled a defamation case by an employer, and not only got her job back, but settled for a substantial sum, got the manager fired, and all while clearing my client’s name.
On September 14, 2021, I concluded a trial representing two corporations and its owner in a defamation case brought against a person who posted a Yelp review. We requested that the Yelp review be taken down, so as to avoid litigation. The person refused. We defeated their attempt to file a late anti-slapp, and obtained a decision that hit the six figure mark.
In another case I handled for a CEO, the prior law firm send out the typical lengthy demand letter, which the miscreant simply ignored. The demand letter was “impressive looking,” but it was like bringing a knife to a gun fight (and a rubber knife at that). Instead, we found that their defamatory post was illegal as a matter of law, and informed them that they would be before a federal judge for contempt charges. We didn’t want money – just removal. A post that had been up for years was gone in a few weeks.
I represented a prominent businessman defamed by a family member (his sister), after she lied about his background and character to sabotage a large business dealing he was involved in. I defeated her anti-SLAPP, and, after seeing our appellate brief, she abandoned her appeal.
I represented one of the world’s finest surgeons against defamatory attacks, and defeated the anti-SLAPP motion and her appeal.
The basement dwellers that get their kicks from hiding behind their keyboards are all cowards, and these demand letters must be written in the manner that they – as cockroaches – understand. I’ve seen it first-hand. They run when the light is shined upon them. Most are nerdy and socially awkward. They also have criminal histories, and other embarrassing shit. When they realize their destination is Bankruptcy Court and prison, it changes them. Can you reason with cockroaches? No. Do cockroaches sense danger? Yes. It’s no different with these posters leaving fake reviews – they want the “fun” of harming you and making you feel miserable, while further harming you financially, and all for about 20 minutes of their time. When you shine the light on them, they immediately go into panic mode. There’s no “reasoning” – only swift and merciless punishment. And again, I’m talking about persons that are INTENDING to ruin your name and occupation with FALSE ACCUSATIONS. If you think my writing is too “harsh,” then please seek another lawyer. I live for tracking down the clues that find out who they are.
There is no First Amendment right to defame someone. (Ashcroft v. FreeSpeech Coalition (2002) 535 U.S. 234, 245-246. Nor do they have a right to post and spread false information about you. Herbert v. Lando (1979) 441 U.S. 153, 171: “Spreading false information in and of itself carries no First Amendment credentials.”
In California, the making of statements that are false and which injure someone in their reputation or occupation is defamation. In California, you cannot post false statements of fact in order to harm a person’s name, reputation or to cause people to shun them. You can’t couch defamatory statements as “protected” opinion. For instance, calling someone “a thief” is actually defamation per se (on its face), unless of course, they are a thief. You can’t get around this by stating, “In my opinion, you are a thief.” One defense to defamation is that you are speaking the truth. Posting fake on-line reviews moves right into defamation if they make false statements of fact about you. Even if it isn’t defamation, it could still be cyberbullying or harassment. You do not have a right to post lies about someone on the internet – it’s libel. You do not have the right to publicize libel either. Once I receive a court order, the Court will force the removal of this defamatory material. Google and other search engines will “de-list” the results.