Can you be sued for posting a negative review online?

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Can you be sued for posting a negative review online?

I recently had a terrible interview experience for a company in the legal
industry and wanted most my negative review experience on Glassdoor. If I
do that, can the company or the interviewer sue me for defamation or
slander even though I wasn’t going to provide the interviewing attorney’s
name or identify the branch with which this experience happened?

Asked on May 3, 2017 under Personal Injury, Pennsylvania

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar

Answered 6 years ago | Contributor

Legally, it's only defamation if you make an untrue factual statement or assertion; a negative opinion is not defamation. So for example, if they kept you waiting for, say, 90 minutes before the interview, you can legally write that: it is true. You can also say it was the most unpleasant interview you had, since that is an opinion. But if you write that the interviewer told you he could not hire you due to your [race, religion, gender, etc.] when he did not, that would be an untrue fact and hence defamation. 
Bear in mind that even if your review is not defamation, the courts do not prescreen cases to see if they are valid before allowing them to be filed. So if the company or any person there is angry enough, they could file a defamation suit and force you to spend time and money responding, even if they ultimately lose. It is not a wise idea to potentially pick a fight with someone in the legal industry, who can likely sue very easily and who may be litigation-minded.

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 6 years ago | Contributor

Legally, it's only defamation if you make an untrue factual statement or assertion; a negative opinion is not defamation. So for example, if they kept you waiting for, say, 90 minutes before the interview, you can legally write that: it is true. You can also say it was the most unpleasant interview you had, since that is an opinion. But if you write that the interviewer told you he could not hire you due to your [race, religion, gender, etc.] when he did not, that would be an untrue fact and hence defamation. 
Bear in mind that even if your review is not defamation, the courts do not prescreen cases to see if they are valid before allowing them to be filed. So if the company or any person there is angry enough, they could file a defamation suit and force you to spend time and money responding, even if they ultimately lose. It is not a wise idea to potentially pick a fight with someone in the legal industry, who can likely sue very easily and who may be litigation-minded.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

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