The Shortest Allegedly Defamatory Statement in History?
28 07 2009lawsuit out of Cook County, Ill., in which a management company filed a ,000 lawsuit over a tenant’s “malicious and defamatory” Twitter tweet. Such tweets, as of course you know, LBers, have a maximum length of 140 characters. And yes, apparently they can lead to defamation lawsuits.
The tweet was made by the tenant, Amanda Bonnen, in reference to the state of her apartment to her 20 followers. “You should just come anyway,” it read. “Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it’s OK.”
Click here for the story, from Chicago Bar-Tender (hat tip: ABA Journal). The complaint notes that because Bonnen’s account was public, “anybody in the world can view the account holder’s tweets.” The complaint says that because the “statement damaged the plaintiff’s reputation in its business, the statement is liable per se.”
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