A San Francisco chiropractor and his former patient, Christopher Norberg, have settled a libel lawsuit arising out of a bad review that Norberg posted on Yelp.
The case appears to
mark the first time that a Yelp user was sued for defamation for posting a bad review. Some observers had warned that the lawsuit could scare consumers from posting negative reviews on sites like the
fast-growing Yelp, which recently expanded into the U.K.
Norberg posted a brief statement on his Web site, standforspeech.com, which he launched to inform people about the lawsuit. "A
misunderstanding between both parties led us to act out of hand," he wrote late Friday, after the case was resolved through mediation.
The site previously hosted a copy of lawsuit, brought in
California state court by Steven Biegel, along with the original post. That material appeared to have been removed by the weekend.
Norberg's original review, written in November of 2007,
complained of a billing matter. He said that he expected a bill for $125, but was instead sent a $500 bill. "He couldn't give me a straight answer as to why the jump in price," Norberg wrote. He also
reported that he later found "a much better, honest chiropractor."
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Biegel alleged in his lawsuit that the post defamed him by suggesting that he was dishonest.
In the statement posted late
Friday, Norberg said he "should have remained open" to Biegel's concerns. "Both Dr. Biegel and I strongly believe in a person's right to express their opinions in a public forum," he wrote. "We both
encourage the internet community to act responsibly." It wasn't clear whether Norberg also paid any monetary damages to Biegel.