Statements were opinion, judge rules

Supreme Court reverses ban on Internet criticism

By Peter Vieth
Published: January 3, 2013
Tags: Constitutional, Defamation, Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Thomas A. Fortkort, Supreme Court of Virginia

The Supreme Court of Virginia acted swiftly last month to overturn a lower court’s takedown order directing a disgruntled consumer to remove critical online postings about a contractor. The high court vacated a Dec. 7 order from Fairfax Circuit Judge Thomas A. Fortkort ordering Jane Perez of Fairfax County to delete certain accusations about Dietz [...]

Website must identify ‘John Doe’ posters

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 3, 2012
Tags: Alexandria Circuit Court, Defamation, Judge James C. Clark, Social Media, Supreme Court of Virginia News

An Alexandria Circuit Court says a Virginia carpet cleaning business may subpoena information on persons who posted anonymous complaints about the business on Yelp.com, a California-based social networking site. The court said it would enforce a subpoena served by the Virginia business on Yelp’s registered agent in Virginia, asking for information about three “John Doe” [...]

Bank sanctioned $7,500 for wrongful foreclosure

By Peter Vieth
Published: November 1, 2012
Tags: Defamation, Federal Courts, Foreclosure, Judge B. Waugh Crigler

A bank that paid $70,000 to settle a defamation action after mistakenly starting foreclosure proceedings against a Rockingham County woman has been ordered to pay an additional $7,500 for its delay in delivering the settlement checks. U.S. Magistrate Judge B. Waugh Crigler found Bank of America “willfully failed to comply” with both the terms of [...]

Accusations about affair not defamatory

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 26, 2012
Tags: Defamation, Judge Louis Allen Sherman, Norfolk Circuit Court

A personal trainer who said she lost her job because of statements made by the husband of a woman she allegedly pursued romantically can’t sue him. The husband was protected from a defamation claim because his complaints about his wife’s extramarital affair –?to the health club the family belonged to and to the private school [...]

Marketing company’s emails not defamatory

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 21, 2012
Tags: Defamation, Federal Courts, Judge John A. Gibney Jr.

When the business relationship between a computer seller and its marketing firm soured, the emails started to fly. The emails may have made matters worse, but a federal judge drew the line at a suit for defamation when he dismissed the computer seller’s defamation claims earlier this month. In 2008, Richmond-based computer seller Velocity Micro [...]

No tort claim for sharing ‘defamatory’ web links

By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 17, 2012
Tags: Defamation, Federal Courts, Judge Robert G. Doumar

An advertising company can’t sue a competitor for notifying potential customers about critical Internet postings, says a Norfolk federal court. Businesses know how online chatter can shape their reputations. With whole websites devoted to consumer complaints, wireless word-of-mouth can amplify any bad buzz about a product or service. Companies that have tried to fight back [...]

Doctor’s defamation claim in Fairfax can go forward

By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 3, 2012
Tags: Defamation, Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Jane Marum Roush

An orthopedic surgeon who said he was forced out of a job at Inova Fairfax Hospital can sue the hospital and several doctors for defamation for complaints about his conduct that could be deemed factual statements, not just opinions about the surgeon’s judgment and skills. Dr. Adel Kebaish sued the hospital, an administrator and 10 [...]

Church can’t stop man from posting discovery

By Paul Fletcher
Published: July 30, 2012
Tags: Defamation, Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Charles James Maxfield

A church that filed a defamation lawsuit based on commentary posted on a website cannot prevent the defendant from publishing any information he gains through discovery. A Fairfax Circuit judge denied the church’s request for a protective order and said it must answer the defendant’s interrogatories within 14 days. The World Mission Society Church of [...]

Newspaper defamed school principal and his son, jury finds – $3,000,000 Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: June 11, 2012
Tags: Chesapeake Circuit Court, Defamation, Judge Randall D. Smith, Million-Dollar Verdicts

On Dec. 18, 2009, The Virginian-Pilot published a news article, authored by Louis Hansen, about Phillip Webb, a public school assistant principal, and his son, a student in the same school system. Plaintiff alleged the defendant newspaper falsely implied that he had improperly used his position to obtain preferential treatment for his student son. In [...]