I am being sued in california small claims court for libel. I posted a review on "trip Advisor" about a house we rented in San Fran area, I beleive we were biten by bugs in the house and posted it on my review. Can I counter sue? I live out of state and I will have to spend money to show up in court. Shouls I remove the review? Does the plantiff ever win these cases? Here is the link to my review:http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g32184-d651009-r132485119-Deer_Crossing_Inn-Castro_Valley_California.html
You can countersue for the money you spend there as well as asking for sanctions for a frivolous lawsuit.I read the review you posted and as long as it is true it doesn't sound libelous at all. It is unlikely the Plaintiff will win.You may want to wait to remove the review and offer it as a settlement or just fight it and see what happens.You will want to do discovery to find out other complaints that have been filed with the hotel as well as who their witnesses will be, etc. If you have never done discovery then you may want to pick up a book on it, there is a good one on written discover for pro se litigants at http://lessonsinlaw.com/the-guerrilla-guides-to-the-law/If you would like any additional information or have more questions please don’t hesitate to ask but please do so my clicking on the Reply to Expert tab.We work for Positive Ratings, please click on one of the top three ratings or one of the Smile Faces, as this would be appreciated. We have recently implemented a new rating and feedback system. Please be aware that you are rating my courtesy and service as a professional, and not necessarily whether you like the information that you are receiving. Please bear in mind I can’t control what the law is and whether it helps you, I can only tell you what it says, and I assume you want truthful information.PLEASE DO NOT use the rating system to ask for more information or in an attempt to tell the website that you didn’t like the substance of the answer as it gives a NEGATIVE rating to me personally if your rating is one of the lower two.I believe in giving information that is to the point, but please remember that I can only base our answers on the information you provide and sometimes a misunderstanding as to what you are looking for or already know occurs so feel free to ask additional questions or for clarifications. Be very careful about looking at other internet sites that just post generic information without any inquiry into your facts because often those answers are dated, wrong, or wrong as applied to your facts. Please be aware that my answer is not legal advice, it is merely information. You should always contact a local attorney for legal advice.Several customers have asked how they direct a question to me in particular. If you specifically want me to provide information for you just put “FOR JD 1992” in the subject line and I will pick up the next time I am online.