Defamation suit raises questions about online reviews

WASHINGTON – Case with all kinds of implications for Internet reviews and the First Amendment goes to court Wednesday.

A local business is trying to prevent a Virginia woman from writing more online reviews on Yelp and Angie’s List.

Christopher Dietz filed a $750,000 defamation suit against Jane Perez of Fairfax.

She posted a Yelp review of Dietz Development, saying it didn’t do its job and damaged her home.

Dietz tells The Washington Post he did the work and was never paid.

What do you think of online reviews? Are they helpful? Are you skeptical? And what if someone posts something that’s false about a business?

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