Oregon hotel sues for defamation over TripAdvisor review

Tuesday, 26 May, 2014 0

A hotel in Oregon has filed a defamation lawsuit against a TripAdvisor user following a scathing review posted online.

The Ashley Inn in Lincoln City filed the action at Multnomah County Circuit Court stating the review was untruthful and posted with "the specific intent to cause damage to the character and reputation of the Inn."

The anonymous reviewer posted the critique under the user name of ’12Kelly’ and the lawsuit says that when the identity of the reviewer can be verified, his or her name will be recorded as the defendant.

The April 23 review said hotel staff were "either high or drunk" and "breakfast is nasty, and the rooms are nasty."

The posting also said "the owner smokes weed."

Overall, the hotel has had generally positive feedback from TripAdvisor members with over half of the 288 reviews rating it excellent.

Last month the Oregon Court of Appeals cleared the way for businesses to sue people who post malicious reviews online after a test case involving a Google review of an outdoor wedding venue.

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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.