Reviews Posted Under A Pseudonym Could Be Defamatory

Richard Raysman is a Partner in the New York office

As written on this blog before, plaintiffs often have difficulty when alleging claims of defamation against anonymous defendants. Unsurprisingly, websites that provide a forum for anonymous commentary are loathe to reveal the "true" identity of such commenters, if only because it would disincentivize users from frequenting the forum in the future. A recent case in California offers a twist on the common theme of ascertaining the offeror of online vitriol when seeking a viable cause of action for defamation. The twist concerns the attempt to use an anonymous identity to make defamatory statements online not via no name at all, but through the use of a name of a fictitious person.

In Judge v. Randell, No. A138481 (Cal. Ct. App. July 7, 2014), Greg Judge (Judge) sued Lori Randell (Randell) for defamation. The claims were based in large part on highly negative online reviews concerning Judge's business. However, in the twist on a typical online defamation matter, Judge did not seek to discover the identity of Randell, but whether Randell had created a fake individual to post pejorative reviews about Judge's business. As background, Randell had...