[Threat Received] Remove article or we will proceed with legal actions

Basically what its about is that a guest author has posted about his experience with a real estate company and how they scammed him. I've got every guest authors post backed up with a disclaimer saying:

From one point of view, they're a real estate company and you can be sure they've got lots of funds and not afraid to use them. They say the article is hurting their business a lot, but I have no intention to remove it if the article is true (remember, I didn't write it so I don't know the real truth, a guest reported it).

On the other hand we're in different countries and I've got no physical belongings in the country where they are, nor have I ever been there.

They're trying to force me to remove the article, but do they actually have any right to do so? What exact rights do I have in my pocket that I can show as a contradicting proof?

 

Can we see this article so we know what is written in the article?

nut legend

 

It is quite easy for them to threaten legal action. It is much harder and more expensive to go through with it. I wouldn't assume that the real estate industry has that much spare money these days. It would come down to how much they are hurt by the article.

 

I think they don't stand a chance. You could say that the article and my website is similar to the one of ripoffreport.com. They've got an excellent article about this and to date they haven't lost a single case.

http://www.ripoffreport.com/wantToSueRipoffReport.asp

 

1st you didnt break any law by telling of the experience.
they are trying to bully you. they have no grounds to sue and there is nothing they can do.

facts are facts and they are just made that they are being exposed. i will post the same post on my blogs if you want.

 

Is that "disclaimer" serious or is it a joke?

You come right out and say that your website will post stories that may be "misrepresented" or "even purely fictional" and then you go on to add that they are posted in "an attempt to harm the company in question".

Do you have any idea what that means? It means you are posting lies to purposely harm other companies. That disclaimer certainly does not protect you from anything and, in fact, probably cements your liability for anything posted by your "guest authors" since you seem to invite false and defamatory postings.

 

No, I'm not posting any lies. If anyone does, it is the guest author. I'm not doing anything here but acting as a mediator.

That's just a small disclaimer that is contained below guest authors reports, I have a more comprehensive terms of service, privacy policy and copyright act in the website, but obviously I'm not going to post all that here because its too big. I don't think this small disclaimer is a joke, it explains in a few words the issue at hand to my visitors. They need to be aware of this fact.

I as a mediator can not possibly be held responsible for the writings posted by other anonymous or registered users. Think about it, on a smaller scale, if you had a blog and someone left an "offensive" comment, would they have the right to sue you?

 

It may be that you do not understand English well enough to understand your own disclaimer. I know what you are trying to do, it is just that your disclaimer does not do that at all, and in fact, probably increases your liability due to the sloppy language which invites people to post false information.

You disclaimer is merely a warning to the reader that your guest authors are allowed to post lies and complete falsehood in attempts to harm companies and it is up to your readers to figure out what is true or not themselves. Yeah, it is a total joke if you think it protects you.

 

Tell them you'll remove it for the right price, otherwise they have no legal standing to force you to take it down. Then ask for upwards of $1000.

 

Are you serious? You're just asking to get sued if you try and pull that on them.

 

On what grounds? Extortion?

Seeing as having that report on their website isn't illegal, asking for money to take it down isn't extortion or blackmail. It's just a business deal, similar to being paid to write something, but just the opposite.

So why else could they "sue"?

 

I agree. I would call it an administrative fee.

On top of that, you could potentially lose traffic and search engine position for taking an article down. It's the least they can do to compensate you for potential future losses.

 

You cited Wikipedia for legal matters.

'nuff said.

 

I thought that was funny too, but I was trying to bite my lip.

 

You're basically admitting being in the wrong. It's the same thing with domains, when filing a WIPO claim, you need to prove bad intent. Trying to extort money out of the company which the negative information is written about would show bad intent, and I think it could land you in more trouble.

I'm not a lawyer, but I'd say either remove it and call it a day, or ignore it and do not respond to the email.

 

I was only posting a general description of what extortion is. it's not even my site. ;

 

Wow. This sounds serious.

 

Look brother I posted this thread to get help. I didn't post it exclusively for your braging, and putting me down as not being literate and understand my own words. I have enough weight to carry on my own, I don't need another burden. If you want to fight and show the world just how good and perfect you are, please do that in another thread. If you want to help, you're welcome to stay.

And yes, the disclaimer is just that as you said. A WARNING to the reader, not more and not less. The only intention of that disclaimer is to make the reader aware of the nature of article. As I said I have a terms of service, privacy policy and copyright act posted on my website, and that is what protects me, not the small disclaimer. A paragraph in one of them explains that by posting on my website the poster is responsible in FULL for whatever he writes and I/we're not.

 

Sorry, I did not mean to put you down. As for any legal threat, it is almost nothing. Nobody is going to sue you over this. However, good business sense may tell you to remove it anyway. That is simply a judgment call you have to make.

Good luck.

 

You're on shaky ground unless you can come up with proof of the statement's claims. If there is no proof, then the statement is defamatory and you cannot use a disclaimer to shy away from this. I haven't read the post. Are you certain that what is written is true?

You published the content and I'm assuming you read it beforehand. It may be that the post was written with the sole purpose of damaging the reputation of the company.

You need to justify what was written if it is not fair comment. If you cannot, then take it down. I really wouldn't weigh this up on whether you think they have enough money to take this up legally. If you know it's wrong then remove the post.

It is not about breaking a law by telling of an experience. You didn't write the post so you don't know if the experience is true or not. You have a disclaimer that effectively tells people you have no idea. Facts are facts, yes, but you don't know the facts. You've said yourself that the post may be based on lies.

I don't know what kind of publication you're running, but you should think about its integrity.