Accountant Sues Craigslist Over Negative Post About His Services

from the yeah,-that'll-work dept

And here’s a lawsuit that’s going nowhere fast. Alex points us to the news of a NY accountant, Leo Kehoe, who is suing Craigslist for $1 million because someone insulted him on the site. He is also suing the anonymous user, who called him a “fraudulent scumbag” who “will botch up your tax returns and forget to submit them.” However, it sounds like he got some very bad advice from his lawyer, who he claims told him: “Craigslist should have known the posting was false and untrue and would subject Kehoe to ‘ridicule, disgrace and prejudice.'” It sounds like his lawyer is unfamiliar with Section 230 and the long list of caselaw that makes Craigslist not liable for the content created by users on the website. The individual person who wrote the post may have some liability (and even that may be a stretch), but Craigslist should be able to get out of this case pretty quickly. At some point, though, you would think that courts should start sanctioning lawyers who file lawsuits that clearly will be dismissed under Section 230. In the meantime, though, it would seem that a lot more people are now aware that someone out there was quite upset with the service he or she got from Mr. Kehoe than if he’d just let the Craigslist post go away. Also, isn’t filing a questionable lawsuit even more likely to result in ridicule, disgrace or prejudice?

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Companies: craigslist

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Comments on “Accountant Sues Craigslist Over Negative Post About His Services”

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21 Comments
Charles Denman says:

Craig's List

Craig’s List was very recently sued in a federal nationwide class action by a vet in Long Beach, CA (Cats & Dogs Animal Hospital and Dr. Greg Perrault). Sales people reportedly offered to remove derogatory comments if the vet would pay or subscribe to Craig’s List. He refused. More negative reviews appeared, followed by more pressure sales pitches. The complaint states this was a common practice that bordered on extortion. The complaint was filed by two law firms, one in Miami and San Francisco.

rabbit says:

You made a funny!

Ridicule, disgrace or prejudice from who? Other lawyers? Judges (aka lawyers)? Politicians (aka lawyers)? They are all patting each other on the back all the way to the bank.

I swear, there’s a bar association bet out there on who can tie up the legal system the most with these idiotic lawsuits…and probably a shot of sambuca riding on it.

Ima Fish (profile) says:

So let me get this straight, Leo Kehoe is a fraudulent scumbag who will botch up your tax returns and forget to submit them? Or not.

If Leo Kehoe is a fraudulent scumbag who will botch up your tax returns and forget to submit them, you probably should not use him as an accountant, in my humble and subjective opinion.

In fact if Leo Kehoe is a fraudulent scumbag who will botch up your tax returns and forget to submit them he should probably lose his license, in my humble and subjective opinion.

In conclusion, if Leo Kehoe is a fraudulent scumbag who will botch up your tax returns and forget to submit them, he’s probably also douche, a retard, and gets his rocks off killing puppies, in my humble and subjective opinion.

Kiley (user link) says:

Family-friendly online selling

Negatives Craigslist stories seem to pop up on the hour. Check out AmericanListed (www.Americanlisted.com). It’s a free, hyper-local, family- friendly, online classified site, where you can sell to neighbors in your community. Postings remain on the site for three months; and associates review all posts before publishing them to filter out inappropriate content. It’s a great alternative to other sites that have “adult” content and attract scammers.

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