Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania

Can I post a sign on my lawn

I recently bought a car for my daughter to take back to grad school. I had to buy it in a week over her Christmas break. So I went to a local dealership that we had purchased several of our cars before. We bought a 1995 Ford Taurus with about 76000 miles. It was an ''As Is'' purchase and we paid $2,990 for it. More than it was worth, but we were in a hurry.

Within several months time, we find the transmission needs to be rebuilt and the rear brakes are leaking. Total bill will amount to close to $2,000. After I made arrangements to have it repaired in North Carolina I sent an email to the dealership's owner to tell him how disappointed I was with the purchase. He replied and asked that I call him to work something out. I did. Turns out he was offering to fix the transmission for less than the $1600 estimate I got from the repair shop in NC. Problem is I would have to drive it up here. Two problems - it is not safe to drive and my daughter needs it to get to her practicum every day.

I want to place a 3' X 3'' sign on my lawn (we live on a very busy well traveled highway) that says ''I will never buy another car from Matthews Ford''. Am I exposing myself to a posible lawsuit? Or is this perfectly legal?


Asked on 4/26/06, 11:35 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Monheit Monheit Law

Re: Can I post a sign on my lawn

If it is a true statement that does not incite riot or cause danger, there is usually nothing illegal in terms of speaking/writing freely.

There may be local ordinances regarding posting signs.

But just because it is not illegal does not mean that they will leave you alone. They could still file a claim against you (regardless of whether they win or lose) and they could claim that in some way you are libeling them by making remarks that they would claim to be false and harmful to their business.

So yes, you are exposing yourself to a lawsuit, despite the legality or illegality of what you are doing.

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Answered on 4/27/06, 5:17 am


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