STEADY BROOK, N.L. — Marble Inn and Suites is coming under fire on social media after suing a former guest for negative comments made in a review last year.
The review of the hotel was written on TripAdvisor after a stay in February 2019.
According to the business, staff received a noise complaint and the defendant and some of her friends were asked to leave the hotel in the middle of the night.
In the review subsequently written by the banished guest, she expressed concern about the safety of young women at the establishment.
The business decided to sue her for defamation.
A settlement was reached in November in which the woman would pay $2,000, issue an apology and delete the post as well as other comments made about the hotel on social media.that
On Dec. 23, the Steady Brook business posted the terms of the settlement, as well as the apology letter, on its website and shared it through Facebook.
The guest’s name was redacted from the letter.
Owner Joe Dicks defended his decision to sue the woman and told The Western Star it was done on the advice of his lawyers.
He continued to receive criticism after posting the defendant’s letter of apology online. However, he felt it was necessary to dispel the notion on social media that he had sued the defendant merely over a negative review.
“People were of the opinion we were addressing the service standard comments that she made,” Dicks told The Western Star. “Negative reviews aren’t a problem and it’s very important that we learn by them.”
Instead, he said both he and his lawyer interpreted the comments as defamatory.
He said the letter apologizes for making statements with no basis in fact regarding the safety of young women at the hotel.
“By her willingness to write an apology and support the legal costs, she accepted the defamation,” he said. “Defamation, by nature, is harmful.”
Many Facebook users have continued to question the fairness of the lawsuit, expressing concern around whether the young woman felt coerced into the apology without the resources to fight the lawsuit.
Dicks dismissed that argument, noting he provided the defendant with an opportunity to remove the post before taking legal action. Because he perceived the remarks to be defamatory, Dicks said he felt his hand was forced when she declined to remove them.
He blamed social media for amplifying the matter and felt he was villianized.
"One couldn’t help but be emotionally impacted by what was being said by strangers who seemed to approach the bashing with joy and a sense of frivolity," he said. "I haven’t felt empowered at any point in this process."
The Western Star attempted to reach the woman who wrote the initial post, but she did not wish to comment.
