California Internet Defamation Law Firm
Based in Century City and representing clients throughout Southern California, the experienced lawyers at Miller Barondess assist individuals, professionals, and businesses who have suffered defamation on the Internet.
Consumers are increasingly turning to the Internet to do research before dining at a certain restaurant, purchasing a certain product, and shopping at a certain store. Websites such as Yelp, Google, Citysearch, message boards, and blogs are more popular than ever for consumers to discuss both good and bad experiences with businesses. While the majority of these posts and discussions are legal expressions of opinion, disgruntled consumers frequently resort to posting untrue, defamatory statements that are not legally protected. Adding to the problem is the fact that the negative reports often appear higher in search results than positive ones.
At Miller Barondess, we understand the importance of your online reputation in such a competitive business environment, and we work tirelessly to help preserve your good reputation. Our clients consist of a wide variety of individuals and businesses, including but not limited to stores and retailers, doctors, dentists, restaurants, lawyers, accountants, contractors, and many more.
Types of Internet Defamation
The experienced attorneys at Internet law firm Miller Barondess handle dozens of Internet defamation cases each year. We work with you to achieve the best possible outcome, whether that means obtaining a removal of the posts in question, seeking a financial settlement, or proceeding to litigation to pursue damages.
Our experience encompasses nearly every type of Internet defamation or trade libel case, including but not limited to the following:
- Negative, false, and unverified business reviews from disgruntled consumers on websites such as Yelp, Citysearch, Google, and RipoffReport
- Anonymous postings
- False and defamatory statements on Internet message boards and discussion forums
- Statements made by disgruntled family members and ex-spouses
- Posts by competitor companies looking to harm our clients
- Representation of former employees and former employers in online statements made by the other party
Anonymous Internet Defamation
A unique challenge of protecting your online reputation is that many false and defamatory Internet postings are done anonymously. As a result, an integral part of our investigation in your case involves uncovering and identifying the person behind the damaging post.
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects Internet service providers (ISPs) from liability in most Internet defamation cases. This means that the legal liability for defamatory statements falls on the people who post them. Our attorneys have a clear understanding of this legislation and know the best strategies to pursue in handling damaging statements. These strategies include using forensic investigative skill, working with the ISP to encourage them to remove the defamatory post, and filing a John Doe lawsuit to obtain the power to subpoena the ISP for the user’s information. In many cases, the ISP is willing to cooperate with us and take down the posting because they want to avoid being named in the litigation as a contributing party.
Once we are able to identify the poster, we aggressively pursue damages on your behalf.
Seek Advice From an Experienced Internet Law Firm
If you or your business has experienced damage to your online reputation because of Internet defamation, it is important to discuss your legal options with an experienced Internet law firm. For more information about Internet defamation or to schedule an appointment, contact us.
