Christopher Norberg
A defamation lawsuit filed by a San Francisco chiropractor against a patient who wrote a negative review of him on Yelp has been settled, according to CNET. According to patient Christopher Norberg’s Yelp review, the chiropractor in question, Dr. Steven Biegel, engaged in aggressive and arguably fraudulent billing practices.
From CNET:
“This case was settled with the mutual satisfaction of both parties,” said Michael Blacksburg, who represented patient Christopher Norberg. The terms of the settlement agreement are confidential and the March trial date will be canceled, he said.
The case had spurred debate over how to best balance the rights of consumers to express themselves on community forum sites with the rights of businesses to protect their reputation.
After court-required mediation on Friday, Norberg wrote the following on Dr. Biegel’s Yelp profile:
“A misunderstanding between both parties led us to act out of hand. I chose to ignore Dr. Biegel’s initial request to discuss my posting. In hindsight, I should have remained open to his concerns. Both Dr. Biegel and I strongly believe in a person’s right to express their opinions in a public forum. We both encourage the Internet community to act responsibly.”
The settlement of this case out of court is probably a good thing for freedom of expression. If Norberg had lost the case, it could have fundamentally changed (for worse) how free our expression could really be on the web. Whether opinion or fact.
