Competitor is posting false info about my company

Can/should I sue them for defamation/libel?

[limitup]

I just found out, and now have proof beyond any shadow of a doubt, that my main competitor is posting defamatory and libelous information about my company/site on the web.

For example, one thing they have done is posted bogus complaints at other websites that act as a centralized place for consumers to make complaints.

In doing so they have made many false statements such as that we ripped them off, that we rip off other people, that we didn't issue a refund when requested, that the FTC has logged complaints against us, etc.

Of course, none of this is true.

Other consumers have even responded to their bogus complaints, thanking them for the warning and specifically stating that they then did not purchase from us after reading the bogus complaint that our competitor posted.

We have made a huge dent in this competitor's sales since we launched our site, and they are obviously not happy with this. But what they are doing is just so wrong.

What is the best way for me to approach this?

I would love to win any type of lawsuit against them. I know they have money, but I don't even really care about that. I could use it to my advantage in other ways.

[vrtlw]

and now have proof beyond any shadow of a doubt

Unless you are the webmaster of the site that the information is posted on I very much doubt that you would have proof, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Heresay and circumstantial evidence may be one thing but unless you have access to the IP adresses and have communicated to the ISP's in concern your evidence is most likely very shoddy.

[tbear]

I would ask a lawyer!
The lawyer would probably write (normal mail) to the site owners explaining the legal situation. ;)

[blaze]

We sued a company and won big with libel ($250K). We were small, they were big - they didn't even realise that they were even libelling us.

However, the #1 thing in all litigation cases is do the people/company you are suing have assets?

If they do, then by all means, god speed. There are probably a 1001 lawyers you can find on the web who are salivating to help you out on commission (ie, you don't pay a dime).

If they don't (which, lets face it, they probably don't - you don't collect assets by being stupid like this), then you are hooped.

Absolutely nobody is going to help you for free and you are throwing a lot of bad money after good. You might win, but for what? The satisfaction of causing pain?

Yay, but don't talk about it here - this is a business Forum not an S&M forum. My suggestion would be to contact them and try to make peace.

[encyclo]

You must consult a lawyer on this one - you can always sue someone, but whether you should comes down to a detailed analysis of your case by a knowledgeable professional in possession of all the facts of the case.

I'm not sure that comments on a public forum such as this, where we can only discuss generalities, are going to get you very far, and they could never consitute legal advice.

[Rosalind]

When you consult your lawyer, ask who would be responsible for the libel payment. Is it the competitor or the owner of the consumer review site? Usually they have terms of service that absolve them of responsibility, but whether that would stand up in court is another matter. If your competitor signed up to these sites using bogus contact details it may be harder to prove their guilt.

Consumer reviews are a mixed blessing. A lot of people use them to help them decide what to buy, but they can be easily abused, and such abuse is probably more widespread than most people realise. I'm thinking of the case when Amazon accidently published the real names of its reviewers, and authors who thought they would be anonymous were found talking up their own books and trashing their rivals. I'm sure Amazon isn't the only company to be affected by this.