Dentist loses suit after fmr. patient criticizes him online

Good, a victory for free speech! This was probably dismissed as the government hates competition. 

It is not only YELP  You can type in dentists, doctors, company names and get reviews on just about any of them.  Some are positive...some are NOT. Look at the restaurants that got named ON TV today for Their problems with sanitation...think they Loved that?  But it was factual, not aimed to destroy their reputation but to let customers know.  And the restaurants cleaned up their act and got better ratings so...a Dentist could ALSO try to improve and even solicit comments once he HAS changed whatever was being complained about. 

All of us posters here will be Sued ......LOL

Now you know atleast one Dentist Not to go to  !!

"Word of mouth"....literally! Hey, people post on Yelp so that they can inform about good service or bad service. 

"If Saleh finds a cavity, get a second opinion and get it filled by someone else."

 

i can see how that sounds like he's encouraging people to have the work done elsewhere. but there's no reason why

Sorry Doc... people are entitled to their opinions and are allowed to share them.  If you don't like what they said, then respond to it on the website and let people make up their minds as to who was right.  I'm not saying that you fit into this mold, but some dentists think the DMD after their name stands for "Declared Medical Deity."  A negative review aught to cause you to do some introspection.  Are you sure you not only did everything right, but treated the patient with respect and dignity?  The fact that you ran out to file a lawsuit sort of speaks volumes about you.

Not sure where the "free speech" argument comes from. Hopefully it is some KATU reporter getting confused, and not from a sitting judge. The first amendment has very little impact on "commercial speech", it is aimed at preventing the government from passing laws limiting citizen's rights to criticize the federal government. it has been extended to cover state and municipal governments as well. The only real free-speech ties to commercial speech are laws that limit a business from communicating. A common example was an overturned law to prohibit liquor stores from advertising prices.

 

Criticism of a business is more of a tort matter, and you can be held libel for damages if you defame the reputation of a business. If you get 50 of your friends to all write bad reviews against a business based on something that only happened to you-you could be sued by the business. There is no right of free speech in this case.

 

However, if you write an unfavorable review of a business based on a factual statement, and the business responds by attempting to intimidate you with a big lawsuit and potential court costs, this triggers the anti-SLAPP laws.

I hope the dentist is able to calm down and control himself. If not, he might end up on the a**hole files, then he'll really be sad.   

http://www.m4040.com/assholefiles.htm

I'm in the bar/restaurant business and am in management,I find amazing how people can get soooooo bent out of shape over the smallest thing.It's almost like some people walk in the door looking for a fight or confident that if the complain and make a huge scene over nothing that they will get stuff for free.Even when you bend over backwards to make everything right and even give them gift certificates they still takes to sites like Yelp to somehow get even.even so far as mentioning the server's name.It still is a issue of free speech however.I can't imagine going after everyone who has posted a bad review.If you are truly running a successful business and you bend over backwards to make the customer happy,the good reviews always outweigh the bad reviews of either restaurant snobs or people who go through life with a chip on their shoulder. Additonally even though my apartment complex had a lot of bad reviews from disenfranchised renters,besides the fact that there are a lot of kids,I really love my apartment.

Perhaps if he would just do his job right then people wouldn't complain.

I am surprised Sony hasn't tried this.

From story above:

 

'WWhen we walked into this courtroom, we didn't walk on equal footing because of the Anti-SLAPP law," Saleh said.'

 

Really - did he really double up the 'W'?

Wow. Look out libel - this ruling is now in your favor.

 

Yikes.

I love it! All you professionals that feel totally protected now have to be held accountable or risk everything. It should be this way and I think veterinarians should start getting the exposure they deserve. Many veterinarians are in practice because they can make big money by running their practice just like the lawyers do, you have a couple minutes with the customer and then have the low paying desk help fill and file the papers and all of a sudden the vet collects your money and the process rolls until the customer can't take it anymore. The first thing out of most vets mouths these days is "well, we will have to do some lab tests"! Please bring a fecal sample so we can smell it with our expensive machine we share with our old vet school friends.

 

What I found to be a change from the old days is the vet (like the lawyers) have a rubber stamp with and the fat chick at the counter just stamps a few forms with your name on it and the mail box starts a-fillin' up with your new debt, ain't that just too f..ing cute?

I actually routinely use sites such as Yelp, PissedConsumer, FoodBites...when I feel the need.  And anyone who swears by the comments on Angie's List is in for a rude awakening.  Do you know how easy it is to write and get paid to write, reviews???  All from people who have never used the company?  I wrote reviews for my employers company for a few years...it's very easy to do.  So if this guy wasn't doing his real dental duties....his client had every right to go to a site like Yelp and complain about it.

What part of free speech does this guy not understand?  Welcome to America Mo!

Sounds like Mo Saleh should have thought about pursuing dentistry in oppressive countries that do not allow free speech. There are plenty countries out there, sir. Feel free to relocate your practice and pursue your own version of dental excellence somewhere else.  

 

I hope Dr. Saleh has to pay a fine to this man for trying to defame someone who was simply pursuing his right to freely speak. Big time fin. Like $300,000 to Mr. Bailey. How about them apples, Dr. Saleh? 

 

 

So... I jsut went back to refresh myself on the original story... amazingly after a bunch of negative opinions there are 3 posts, all 22 days ago all defending old Mo-Larry-Curly guy, whatever his name is. Funnily, they are all at the same score, all have 5 likes received and 0 given... Hrm... one would wonder if maybe someone wasn't doing a little homemade creative spin on the "poor" dentist's side.

The SLAPP law is Anti dentite.

Another one  BITES the dust just remembering an old song here with extra loud singing on the bite part.

As long as the critique is factual and absent intentional malice, I fully support peoples' right to publish a review on line.  Instead of suing Saleh should concentrate his efforts on becoming a better, more ethical dentist.

If the dentist was actually a good dentist in the first place , he wouldnt worry about one dissatisfied customer .. But no, I didnt say that ..

GOOD!!!!!

I love the SLAPP law. It keeps those with lots of money and power bankrupting those with little money.