Chicago Resident Sued Over Moldy Tweet
July 28, 2009 by: adminUPDATE: Horizon Realty, the company suing their former tenant over a tweet, is now a trending topic on Twitter. Some Twitterers feel the company has effectively killed their reputation. What do you think?
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: How much is a single tweet worth? Would you believe $50,000? That’s the price a Chicago based realty company is trying to get in a defamation lawsuit.
Back in May, Amanda Bonnen, did what any Twitter user does… tweeted a complaint. Below is the text from her tweet, via Chicago Bar-tender:
"@JessB123 You should just come anyway. Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it’s okay."
Though her account has since been deleted, it should be noted that at the time of this tweet Amanda had approximatley 20 followers.
Do you think this tweet could’ve caused any damage? Tell us.
The Horizon Realty Group feels that her tweet did some damage, as they’ve filed a suit in the Cook County Circuit Court. The Chicago Sun-Times has some interesting quotes from Jeffrey Michael, whose family runs Horizon:
"The statements are obviously false, and it’s our intention to prove that … We’re a sue first, ask questions later kind of an organization."
If you wish to read the "Verified Complaint" you can go here (it’s a PDF).
Do you think we will start seeing more lawsuits from tweets? Let us know your thoughts.
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