Tort Law

Tripadvisor Review Complaining of Bedbugs Results in a Lawsuit

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A hotel in suburban Oak Park, Ill., has sued a Massachusetts couple, claiming they made a false bedbug claim on Tripadvisor.com.

The suit claims Michael Gladstone and Liora Braun posted a review saying they found a bedbug on the third and final night of their April stay at the Carleton, but when they complained, the hotel did not take it seriously. Now they are facing claims of defamation, invasion of privacy, and tortious interference with business. Oakpark.com has the story.

A maintenance crew checked the room after the couple complained, but no problem was found, the lawsuit says. Michael Gladstone contacted the hotel manager to complain a second time, spurring the hotel to hire a pest control company. “Not a single bedbug, dead or alive, was observed,” according to the inspection report attached to the lawsuit.

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