internet defamation

[pabgraphics]

Hi,
I have a question. I recently had some work done on my home by a particular contractor that caused a lot of damage to my home. Since I do web design, I set up a page on my own website that shows that pictures of the damage and warns others not to use this particular contractor. Since I am registered in the search engines my site comes up right after there sight in search engines such as google etc. I recieved a call from the contractors recently threatening to go to a lawyer if I do not take the webpage down. Should I be worried about guilty of slander? My site has pictures of the damage, as well as some text warning people of the fraudulent ways of this company. Should I be worried?

 

[NYClex]

This is always hard to say. There is a tort called "Interference with contractual relations" or "Interference with future business relations" and also a tort called "false light" which basically means this:

If someone intentionally interferes with the relations between a business and its current or prospective customers with the intent that the business will lose them, this person is liable for the damage.

Of course, if I tell my buddy: "Yesterday I bought a lemon from Joe, the car dealer at the corner, because after 3 miles the car just broke down" and my buddy then decides not to buy a car from Joe, Joe cannot sue me if it was absolutely true.

But if I had said: "You know, Joe only sells junk, I guess he really does not have one car on his lot that would make more than 100 miles after you drive it from the lot, I bought one yesterday and..." this could be actionable, because I obviously exaggerated.

Same with pictures: If I posted the picture of my broken down car and wrote as a title: This is my car three hours after I bought it from Joe" it probably would not be actionable, but if I wrote: "This is the kind of car Joe sells" it implies that all the cars are like this and that could be actionable.

Therefore this is a very tricky question and I cannot give you any advice here because I don't know the details, but I would rather err on the safe side and take offending statements off the web. If there are reasons to complain about a service or sale I would do so to the appropriate authorities.