Getting sued for your opinion

It was bound to happen.

I was watching the news in Phoenix the other evening, and there was a report about a local woman who had had some body work done on her car. She posted on social media (I forget which one) about the unsatisfactory work that the body shop had done. The body shop had their lawyer send the lady a letter demanding a public retraction of her statement! The lady maintained that she had the right of free speech and that she had a right to post her opinion of the work the body shop performed. That, allegedly, is only true if what you are saying is accurate. It was alleged that the lady either omitted or embellished part of the truth, and the body shop threatened to sue her. The lady and the body shop came to a settlement, so nobody got sued.

What say you, good folks?

Regards

WC

Interesting, but I'd have to know the whole story/truth.

There is this thing called slander, so you have to keep that in mind.

There's a difference in posting "the bodywork was subpar, poor paint match and panel alignment."

Vs.

"The body man is obviously a drunken idiot. He must be blind in one eye and has fertilizer for brains."

The point I wanted to raise is that we are always making recommendations and talking about different products and suppliers on this and other forums. Sometimes the opinions can be rather strong. Are we in danger of legal ramifications by stating our opinions, right or wrong?

Regards

WC

I've always heard it's how you present it.

I think the quality of the repair is poor. This is your opinion and you are entitled to it.

The quality of the repair is poor. This, is what you better be ready to back up.

The problem is anybody can sue for any reason worthy or not.

Don't you need to show monetary damages before you can sue for slander? It's not as easy as it sounds. Besides, lay down with lawyers...
TonyM

Slander is verbal - libel is written. Yes, you can get sued for anything - but you will win if it is the TRUTH. The TRUTH is not slander or libel. So if what you are blogging or saying is the truth - that holds up in any court. There is more to it but that is the jest of the law.

Ditto