You are here: / / AN UNFAVORABLE ANONYMOUS GOOGLE REVIEW OF PLAINTIFF ORTHODONTIST, ALTHOUGH...

AN UNFAVORABLE ANONYMOUS GOOGLE REVIEW OF PLAINTIFF ORTHODONTIST, ALTHOUGH IT INCLUDED BOTH FACT AND OPINION, WOULD BE UNDERSTOOD BY A READER TO BE PURE OPINION; THE REVIEW IS NOT ACTIONABLE DEFAMATION (FIRST DEPT). ​

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined that an unfavorable Google review of plaintiff orthodontist by a former minor patient did not constitute actionable defamation:

Plaintiffs, an orthodontist and his professional corporation, allege that defendants — a former minor patient and that patient’s parents — defamed them in an unfavorable review posted on Google. Contrary to Supreme Court’s holding, we find that, although defendants’ Google review contains elements of both fact and opinion, it nevertheless is not actionable … , and it was not the motion court’s province to “sift[] through [the] communication for the purpose of isolating and identifying assertions of fact” … . Rather, the court should have considered the overall context in which the communication was made, an anonymous online review of plaintiff’s services … .

Here, a reasonable reader of defendants’ Google review would understand it to be pure opinion based on the context in which it was posted and its arguably “[l]oose, figurative, or hyperbolic” tone … . Furthermore, defendants’ Google review was posted anonymously online and, as we have recognized, “‘[R]eaders give less credence to allegedly defamatory remarks published on the Internet than to similar remarks made in other contexts'” … . DeRicco v Maidman, 2022 NY Slip Op 05921, First Dept 10-20-22

Practice Point: An unfavorable, anonymous Google review of plaintiff orthodontist, although it included both fact and opinion, would be understood by readers to be pure opinion. The review therefore did not constitute actionable defamation.

 

You might also like
In this Shareholder Derivative Lawsuit, Causes of Action Not Subject to the “Internal Affairs” Doctrine Should Not Have Been Dismissed
DEFENDANT’S FAILURE TO DEMONSTRATE WHEN AREA WHERE PLAINTIFF FELL WAS LAST INSPECTED OR CLEANED REQUIRED DENIAL OF DEFENSE SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S PETITION ALLEGING RESPONDENT DISINFECTANT-DISTRIBUTOR ENGAGED IN PRICE GOUGING AT THE OUTSET OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED; THE CONTROLLING STATUTE, GENERAL BUSINESS LAW 396-R, IS NOT VOID FOR VAGUENESS (FIRST DEPT).
Facts Did Not Support Family Court’s Dismissal of a Petition to Terminate Parental Rights of Both Parents—Permanent Neglect Finding Was Warranted by the Facts
EVEN THOUGH THE STATE ASSEMBLY REDISTRICTING MAP WAS DECLARED INVALID BY THE COURT OF APPEALS IN APRIL 2022, THE MAP WILL BE USED UNTIL THE GENERAL ELECTION IN 2024 (FIRST DEPT).
QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER DEFENDANT WHICH COULD STOP WORK FOR UNSAFE PRACTICES WAS A STATUTORY AGENT OF THE OWNER OR CONSTRUCTION MANAGER FOR PURPOSES OF LIABILITY UNDER LABOR LAW 240 (1) AND 241 (6) (FIRST DEPT).
PLAINTIFF’S DECEDENT WAS KILLED IN A MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT DURING RECREATIONAL USE OF A CITY PARKING LOT, CITY NOT LIABLE PURSUANT TO THE GENERAL OBLIGATIONS LAW (FIRST DEPT).
THE WORN MARBLE STAIRWAY TREAD WAS NOT AN ACTIONABLE DEFECT; DEFENDANT ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS STAIRWAY SLIP AND FALL CASE (FIRST DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

THE DEFENDANT WAS REPRESENTED AT TRIAL BUT REPRESENTED HIMSELF IN PRETRIAL PROCEEDINGS;... WHETHER A PRIVATE COLLEGE ACTED IRRATIONALLY OR ARBITRARILY AND CAPRICIOUSLY...