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Thursday 21 January 2021

Reviewing without due care and attention

I used to be a fan of review sites. I would rarely book a holiday without first checking what previous users had to say about it. I began to have my doubts when we had a particularly unpleasant short stay at an apartment in Greece a few years ago. Think cockroaches, damp, unpleasant staff etc. What was alarming was that there were very contrasting reviews. Some had an experience as unpleasant as ours. Others seemed to have gone in search of paradise and found it! I did begin to wonder whether there was some other agenda sitting behind the favourable reviews.

The well-known Trip Adviser site has had to address addressed this issue although their problem is more about fake positive reviews –

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49605457

In an increasingly competitive legal market, it is no surprise that law firms have seen the importance of online reviews. When I was involved in the management of my former firm, I would regularly look at sites like Trust Pilot and Social Media to see how we were perceived! Anything negative was acted on immediately! This type of consumer research can be useful. But it can also be dangerous…and expensive.

The recent case of Summerfield Brown Ltd v Weymouth  [2021] EWHC 85 (QB) (https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2021/85.html) is an important example!

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/disgruntled-client-ordered-to-pay-25000-damages-for-libellous-review/5107081.article

It started out harmlessly enough. The solicitors gave the client some brief advice and charged a fixed fee of £200. We have all done that. The client then went to Trust Pilot and said - ‘A total waste of money another scam solicitor’. He appears never to have complained about the service or provided any reason for his criticism. This had a negative impact on the firm’s business. They sued for libel.

The client defended the claim on the basis that –

1.     It was ‘honest opinion’. Isn’t that the whole point of a review? But Master Cook held that this defence is not available where there is an allegation of fraud. The use of the words ‘scam solicitor’ suggested that the solicitors were dishonest.

2.       He argued that it was in the public interest, but he had demanded the return of his £200 in return for removal of the review. Master Cook found that -  “that this demand wholly undermines the defence of public interest

3.      Finally he argued truth. The Master noted – “there is evidence that it is a responsible firm of solicitors with no published SRA decisions against it and thus it is inconceivable the Claimant could be a scam firm or trading fraudulently and have such an unblemished record.

The honest opinion defence was struck out and summary judgment was entered in relation to public interest and truth. The client was ordered to pay damages of £25k. Trust Pilot, who were not a party, were ordered to remove the defamatory post.

This decision is possibly of limited effect because of the use of the word ‘scam’ and the attempt to get money for the post’s removal.

Equally, it highlights the damage that can be done by a negative review and that they can, in some cases, amount to libel.

www.stevecornforth.com