Legal Question in Personal Injury in Massachusetts

Re: Become Defamation?

I do not entirely agree with the prior answer. The website is an independent publisher. It should be contacted with a copy of the health department review and asked to remove the text as defamatory. Publishers are responsible for republishing as fact something which could be defamatory.

Tat being said, it's still a pretty weak case in court. You would have to prove that the defamation is actively affecting the business.

Re: Become Defamation?

Only way you can pursue a claim, is if the customer had no reason to believe this to be true or knew it was not true and posted it anyways to harm the restaurant. Very hard to prove.

Re: Become Defamation?

Depends if it is fact or opinion, depends if restaurant is considered a public figure. It would seem an attorney would have to know a lot more before making any judgment here. Please also consider whether there are any damages, and how you would go about proving those damages are due to review. Also, truth is a defense, so even thought the DPH found no violations that does not mean there were none. This could be expensive to litigate and the damages may not warrant the time of the client (these cases are very consuming) and the attorney's fees spent to try to obtain a recovery. Regards, JBS