Legal Marketing
Appeals Court Says Lawyer’s Ad Seeking Plaintiffs Wasn’t Defamatory
Posted May 2, 2008, 10:28 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A California appeals court has ruled that a lawyer’s ad seeking potential class-action plaintiffs did not defame a company mentioned in the solicitation.
The ad said owners of wood decks using galvanized screws made by three companies might be entitled to compensation or free repairs, the Recorder reports. The lawyer who ran the ad, Ben Pierce Gore, never filed suit.
One of the companies, the Simpson Strong-Tie Co., filed suit, claiming the ads falsely suggested its screws were defective. The company argued it was entitled to sue under exemptions to the state’s anti-SLAPP law, but the court disagreed.
The company had commissioned a survey of home improvement store customers to prove its reputation had been damaged. But the court said it was difficult to draw conclusions from the study, and they did not prove defamation or trade libel, the Recorder story says.