Media & Communications Law
Landlord Sues Tenant for Libel Over Tweet About ‘Moldy Apartment’
Posted Jul 28, 2009 10:38 AM CST
By Sarah Randag
An apartment management company in Illinois has sued a tenant for libel over a "malicious and defamatory" tweet about the state of her apartment to her 20 followers on Twitter.
Chicago Bar-Tender has the complaint (PDF) filed by Horizon Group Management against Amanda Bonnen, who was a tenant in one of its Chicago buildings. The complaint notes that the @abonnen account named in the complaint had only 20 followers (the account appears to no longer be live). The blog also has a screen shot of @abonnen's May 12 tweet reply:
"You should just come anyway. Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it's OK."
The Cook County Circuit Court complaint includes @abonnen's entire Twitter feed between April 27 and July 13 as Exhibit A, and it notes that because the @abonnen account was public, "anybody in the world can view the account holder's tweets." The complaint contends that because the "statement damaged the plaintiff's reputation in its business, the statement is libel per se."
Horizon Realty Group issued a press release (PDF provided by The Legal Satyricon) on July 28 in which general counsel Jeff Michael stated that Bonnen had filed suit against Horizon on July 24, and that Horizon had discovered the tweet while conducting due diligence in response to that suit.
The complaint seeks a jurisdictional amount of damages and contends that because Bonnen's tweet is defamatory per se damages to the plaintiff's reputation "are presumed."
Updated July 29 to include Horizon press release.
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Comments
JN
Jul 28, 2009 12:13 PM CST
Isn’t not having a sense of humor an absolute defense to libel actions?
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JAL
Jul 28, 2009 1:39 PM CST
Well, if you are going to be defamed, you might as well be sure the whole world knows about it, rather than just the twenty followers.
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Charis P
Jul 28, 2009 3:57 PM CST
I would advise Horizon to fire its attorney. As JAL implied, all the lawsuit does is create the potential for an otherwise unnoticed statement to now do actual damage to Horizon’s business reputation. As one famous litigator of his time had counseled to his client who wanted to pursue a defamation suit where he had suffered no real financial damages, “think of the insult as if you’ve had mud splashed on your suit. If you try to clean it away while it is fresh, you will just streak your clothes and the stain will be with you forever. But if you do nothing and wait until the mud dries, you can flick it off and it will leave no mark.”
In this case Horizon risks everything for nothing. It is highly probable that the defendant will raise the defense that the statement is true which has the potential of really damaging Horizon’s reputation if it loses the lawsuit. Even if it wins, as all good lawyers know, there is a big difference between winning a judgment and collecting on it, and notwithstanding that damages are presumed for libel per se (which Horizon’s attorney could not even spell correctly), the amount of damages is not. I’ve seen cases similar to this one where, even if the plaintiff prevails, the damages awarded are nominal (one dollar in one case) if it cannot establish actual damages.
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Aspiring Know-it-All
Jul 28, 2009 9:32 PM CST
I thought damages was an essential element for the tort of libel.
Color me impressed if the Plaintiff gets their $1. The infamy of putting this in the public record is worth millions.
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Dr Phun
Jul 29, 2009 10:41 AM CST
And of course, it is factually true, and would be for nearly any proeprty. Mold spores are everywhere - the only variation is in the amount.
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Dr Phun
Jul 29, 2009 11:04 AM CST
So I looked at the tweets and the suit. The suit is from “Horizon Group Management, LLC”, but her comments are about a Horizon Realty. How was “Horizon Group Management, LLC” harmed by comments about Horizon Realty? The suit doesn’t even say why “Horizon Group Management, LLC” has standing.
The suit complains that the comments could be read worldwide; there are many “Horizon Realty"s worldwide (probably more than people who originally got the tweets). Horizon Group Management, LLC, why do you think the comments relate to you? Do you feel guilty because you have moldy apartments?
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hal
Jul 29, 2009 12:03 PM CST
Defamatory per se, funny. According to experts, every building has mold. Obviously all apartment management companies find it acceptable to have, at least in small amounts. I’d love to take discovery of Horizon. If anyone is looking to represent her, I’d volunteer some of my time to defend her.
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B. McLeod
Jul 29, 2009 12:08 PM CST
She should get “Barrister” to work on this. He is good with defamation.
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Jim | 2009-07-29-We 2228 -0400
Jul 29, 2009 8:32 PM CST
Judge Learned Hand made a wise statement c. 1923 how, short of death, nothing would be more onerous to him then being a party to litigation.
Note a quote, but I have it not at fingertips and I’m too lazy to get it.
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B. McLeod
Jul 30, 2009 11:04 AM CST
Of course, later on, he did succumb to his mortality, to become known (as I recall) as “the Dead Hand of the Law.”
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AllRise
Jul 31, 2009 4:31 AM CST
This case is currently being debated by the people at allrise community court room - http://www.allrise.com/cases/Chicago_Realty_Group-vs-Amanda_Bonnen/208
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N.Brown
Jul 31, 2009 6:00 AM CST
I would think it within the realm of discovery to take a peek for mold in every apartment owned by the plaintiff.
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tim
Jul 31, 2009 7:10 AM CST
What Horizon was she referring too? Just another frivilous lawsuit by an overzealous trial attorney.
If I was the defense attorney I can’t wait to search all of their apartment complexes for mold. I would blow this suit up in their face.
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Kalifornia Arnold
Jul 31, 2009 9:11 AM CST
Does Horizon own apartments on Baltic or Mediterranean Avenue? Slumlords hate exposure—If the tweet is baseless libel then the slumlords who own these buildings (and their attorneys) shouldn’t mind living in them
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Jim
Jul 31, 2009 9:18 AM CST
Thanks for filing suit Horizon Realty. Should I ever be in the market for an apartment again, I will know better than to rent from a POTENTIALLY litigious landlord that ALLEGEDLY rents moldy apartments. [Note to Horizon’s counsel, please consider my use of ALLCAPS before suing me too]
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Matt
Jul 31, 2009 9:26 AM CST
Perhaps if everyone understood what multi-family owners and property management companies go through on a regular basis you would better understand their motivations. Their products and services are regularly defamed, usually anonymously. This gives them an opportunity to let tenants know that there actions, if false, have ramifications.
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BMF
Jul 31, 2009 10:02 AM CST
I agree w/ Charis P. @3.
If you have a property in a desireable area, price and market it correctly, and you maintain it properly, defamation shouldn’t be an issue.
In addition to practicing law, I am a landlord and asthmatic, who rehabs older houses for fun and occasional nominal profit. First, most older buildings have mold at one time or another: Tenants leave wet towels under the sink until h*ll freezes over and the surfaces rot; tenants fail to report leaking pipes and fixtures, thinking they will avoid expensive repair fees, and cabinets or floors rot; roof leaks go unrecognized until the tenant moves out…
Even if the mold exists when the tenant moves out, in this state, (CA) a landlord is a fool if he rents a place without attending to the mold issue. Especially since removing the mold is relatively cheap and easy if it is localized.
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RS
Jul 31, 2009 10:04 AM CST
Is a false and defamatory “tweet” libel or slander?
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Netochka Nezvanova
Jul 31, 2009 10:16 AM CST
Truth is a defense.
Per other news reports on broadcast media, the tenant had filed suit against Horizon re: the mold issue, and lost. Not sure if it was an IWH claim or what, but if Horizon won the case, then the apartment must have been found safe for her to live in, and “Horizon realty thinks it’s Ok.”
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sb
Jul 31, 2009 11:12 AM CST
Not only is truth a defense, but a reasonable belief that the statement is true is an absolute defense to libel or slander. Technically, her attorney doesn’t even need to prove there is mold in the apartment, only that she reasonably believes that there is.
This is yet another example of bad lawyering, anyway. 1) Management company stands to lose credibility, PR, and tenants. 2) If company loses, these losses are compounded. 3) Even if company wins, how are they going to collect against an individual tenant with, presumably, little or no lienable assets and no insurance coverage for the liability? 4) Weigh the pros (not many) and cons (all the stuff I just listed) and advise your client to flie suit?? That’s just stoopid.
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sb
Jul 31, 2009 11:14 AM CST
*“file” suit, not “flie” suit; sorry for the typo.
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Juan Dotson
Jul 31, 2009 5:54 PM CST
too funny! I agree that this is an example of bad lawyering. Is the firm’s bottom line to blame? Or the explosive combination of stoopid clients and attorneys?
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Lara M
Aug 1, 2009 7:23 PM CST
#3 and #15 hit me and I’m not a lawyer, just a receptionist at a law firm. Last I heard, freedom of speech was not a crime.
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Lara M.
Aug 1, 2009 7:25 PM CST
but maybe freedom of “tweet” is what’s at issue here…
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David
Aug 3, 2009 2:28 PM CST
I believe Horizon will benefit greatly. Complaints will be stifled. At best, the tenant will pay attorneys fees for posting this, even if the case is dismissed. Eventually the legal system can be used to stifle discussions on any topic. Big business knows those with money can sue those with less money, send a message, it will cost you to complain. Eventually, complaints will cease. Money rules!
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Anonymous
Aug 3, 2009 10:03 PM CST
I just read the complaint (mostly because I couldn’t believe #3’s allegation without seeing it for my own eyes—the complaining attorney did misspell “libel per se.” “Liable per se,” if anyone else is curious.”)
Is it customary in that part of the country for an attorney so sign over a signature block of “One Of Its Attorneys”? I have never seen that before (granted, my experience is limited to Texas and California). That struck me as so odd that I wondered if this was a spoof. What do the locals think of that signature block?
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Fight the Moldy Man
Aug 4, 2009 2:26 PM CST
Tweet on, my people!
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Adel
Aug 10, 2009 8:19 PM CST
A fair reading of the tweet comments about Horizon’s belief concerning mold does not say that her apartment is moldy. I think an average attorney could counter sue Horizon for damages caused by malicious prosecution of a baseless civil tort, then get summary judgment for dismissal of the complaint. The jury demand is great.
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