Chiropractor Sues Over Bad Online Review

A chiropractor's lawsuit has the potential to break the back of the online business-review industry, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. The bone-cracker is suing a client who posted a complaint on review site Yelp that suggested he was dishonest with insurance companies. "I think he is trying to scare me into removing a negative post," says client Christopher Norberg.

"There needs to be some sort of blowback against unfettered speech," says one lawyer. And experts say the case cuts to the marrow of online free speech issues and raises questions about whether third-party review sites can survive. A lawyer for the chiropractor—whose business has dropped since the review—said that while negative reviews are fine, Norberg had made false statements of fact in accusing his client of insurance fraud.
(More free speech stories.)