The same old story with a surprising result.
A Fairfax County jury reached a surprising decision in late January regarding damages in an online defamation action. The defendant (and counter-plaintiff) hired a Fairfax-based business to make some cosmetic repairs to her property. Dietz Dev., LLC v. Perez, Case No.: 12-16240, (filed October 31, 2012 Fairfax Circuit). After the contractor completed a portion of the work, a disagreement ensued and Ms. Perez, the defendant, allegedly locked the contractor out of the job site. In response, the contractor filed suit to recover for unpaid invoices, but failed to file a court-ordered pleading and lost the matter on summary judgment. Thereafter, Ms. Perez, made a series of allegedly defamatory posts on Yelp and Angie’s List regarding services provided by Dietz. Among other comments posted, Ms. Perez accused Dietz of moral turpitude, causing damage her home, committing trespass, theft and invoicing for work never performed. Dietz claimed such statements cost his business $300,000 in work opportunities, in addition to the damage to his business’s reputation. An injunction prevented Perez from making new statements and $750,000 in damages was requested. In response, Perez filed a counter-claim for defamation against Dietz.
