Law Firm's Lawsuit Against Student Over Bad Yelp Review Backfires Badly

[TexasTowelie]

When an attorney from the Tuan A. Khuu law firm threatened to sue her for writing negative comments about the firm on Facebook and Yelp, 20-year-old Lan Cai was barely deterred.

Lawyers at the law firm, Cai wrote on Facebook, had first gone into her bedroom while she was half-asleep under the covers in her underwear, ignored her phone calls after she signed a contract, and left her hanging when she arrived at the office to demand an explanation for their behavior. When attorney Keith Nguyen asked her to delete the comments or face a lawsuit, she simply wrote an even more negative Yelp review, warning people to watch out because the firm will sue for bad reviews. Soon after, the firm sued her for libel, alleging the statements she made were false and would severely damage its reputation.

Looks like coming down hard on a 20-year-old nursing student who waits tables six days a week — and asking for between $100,000 and $200,000 in damages — has backfired on the law firm. Because last week, Tuan A. Khuu lost in court and was ordered instead to pay $27,000 in attorneys' fees.

“I'm just proud of this young lady for standing up to these people,” said Cai's attorney, Michael Fleming. “A lot of other people would have folded and said it's not worth it fighting this law firm — I'll just change the review. But she stood up to them, she did the right thing and she was successful.”

Read more: http://www.houstonpress.com/news/law-firms-lawsuit-against-student-over-bad-yelp-review-backfires-badly-8986863

[Break time]

1. A rare

Commodity in today's apathetic world