Can A Negative Google Review Amount To Defamation?

In February 2019, Jaimyn Mayer from Brisbane was helping his mother in a dispute with a second-hand car dealer, the dealer was represented by Nyst Legal. In the course of the dispute, Jaimyn left a one-star Google review for Nyst Legal. Within the review, he commented:

“I had legitimate concerns that they were just trying to get us to go away”.

He did, however, make it clear that he was never a client.

In March 2020, Nyst Legal brought a claim against Jaimym and Google, seeking $300,000.00 in damages. The parties were able to settle with Nyst accepting a settlement offer from Jaimyn, albeit it did take almost a year to reach a resolution.

What is however interesting about this case is that it seems to have opened the floodgates in Australia resulting in a fair few claims being pursued in relation to Google reviews. It will be interesting to see whether we see a similar rise in the English Courts.

Could a negative Google review amount to defamation under English law?

The simple answer is, technically it could. The claimant would, however, need to prove that there was:

1. An untrue statement clearly identifying the individual/individuals;
2. The statement has been published to at least one other person;
3. The statement is capable of causing serious harm to the individual’s reputation; and
4. There is no legal defence that can be relied upon.

As stated above, the defendant may be able to rely upon a defence. The defences most likely to be relevant to a Google review are set out below:

• Truth – This is a complete defence and as the name suggests, the defendant would need to prove that the statements made were true.
• Honest opinion – To rely upon this defence, the defendant must prove that the statement was a statement of opinion and not a statement of fact and that the opinion was held honestly.
• Public interest – The defendant would need to prove that the statement complained of was a matter of public interest and that they reasonably believed that publishing the statement was in the public interest.

Comment

The above highlights the importance of thinking twice before posting a negative review online. If you do find yourself in a situation, whereby you are being pursued for a negative review that you have posted, it is important to seek legal advice as quickly as possible.