Top court says businesses may sue residents of other states in Ohio over Internet comments

[The Straight Story]

Top court says businesses may sue residents of other states in Ohio over Internet comments

Ohio businesses can sue residents of other states who disparage their products on the Internet, a divided Ohio Supreme Court ruled this morning.

In a 4-2 decision, justices said a Knox County court was wrong not to take up a case in which a Virginia man posted negative comments about a local company, Kauffman Racing Equipment, on the Internet.

The Virginia man, Scott Roberts, paid $3,000 for an engine block from the company, modified it, and attempted to return it after finding it defective. Kauffman Racing Equipment declined to refund his money after determining that he had modified the engine block.

After Roberts posted highly critical comments about the company and its owner on racing-related websites, Kauffman Racing Equipment sued him in Knox County Common Pleas Court. But the judge said the court couldn't take the case because Roberts lived in another state.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/06/10/engine-supreme-court.html?sid=101

[Sebastian Doyle]

1. And in other news....

British Petroleum (BP) announced today that they will be moving their US offices to Cincinatti.

[Wandawilkerson]

2. Wait...Did the comments contain libelous content?

Can I get sued even if I tell the truth about a product or company?
What have we become? North Korea?

[NC_Nurse]

3. So the Chambers now 10-0? At least they're consistent. Consistently selling

us out...

[safeinOhio]

4. I'm all for the 7th Amendment, however

Ohio courts need to strike down Ohio's medical malpractice cap as a violation of that Amendment also.

You can sue for anything, winning is something else.