Question on Potential International Defamation Suit?

[ColoLegal]

Last year I general contracted my own home. I had a significant number of issues with the window manufacturer (located in Canada), so much so that at the end of the construction posted my experiences on 6-7 websites. The company responded with the threat of a defamation suit for 'damages', going as far as to have a legal counsel in my home state of Colorado send a formal letter to the effect. My posting is a solidly factual representation of the events that took place, and I have the necessary
substantiation to be able to readily defend this with a SLAPP counter suit. However, I do have a couple questions to try to determine the potential scope of this effort and would appreciate some legal counsel regarding this.

1) How long is the statue of limitations for them to file this claim?
2) Can this company file their defamation suit in Canada (vs in my home state of the U.S.)?
3) If filed in Canada, and a potential judgement in their favor (extermely doubtful, but I like to be prepared), how enforceable is that claim on me in the U.S.?
4) If I file a SLAPP counter suit against them and win, how enforceable is that judgement against that company in Canada?


Thanks for your time. If any additional information is needed please advise.

 

[army judge]

Last year I general contracted my own home. I had a significant number of issues with the window manufacturer (located in Canada), so much so that at the end of the construction posted my experiences on 6-7 websites. The company responded with the threat of a defamation suit for 'damages', going as far as to have a legal counsel in my home state of Colorado send a formal letter to the effect. My posting is a solidly factual representation of the events that took place, and I have the necessary
substantiation to be able to readily defend this with a SLAPP counter suit. However, I do have a couple questions to try to determine the potential scope of this effort and would appreciate some legal counsel regarding this.

1) How long is the statue of limitations for them to file this claim?
2) Can this company file their defamation suit in Canada (vs in my home state of the U.S.)?
3) If filed in Canada, and a potential judgement in their favor (extermely doubtful, but I like to be prepared), how enforceable is that claim on me in the U.S.?
4) If I file a SLAPP counter suit against them and win, how enforceable is that judgement against that company in Canada?


Thanks for your time. If any additional information is needed please advise.

Let's just keep it simple.
That 2500 + mile long northern border, it protects BOTH of you.
International civil lawsuits are rare, for want of proper service and "long arm" statutes not long enough to breach any jurisdictional protections.

Now, if that Canadian corporation has a US based subsidy (or other US based entity); all bets are off.

You'd still have to be sued in Colorado, depending on how upset the company is with your comments, (plus their deep pockets) that sometimes does happen.

Do yourself a favor, just don't leave bread crumbs that track back to you, if you can't restrain yourself from on social media.
Better yet, just don't behave that way in the future.
Why?
I'm sure you don't want to financially jeopardize your family for nothing.
Don't leave your safe open, your wallet full of cash and credit cards laying on your lawn.
By morning, you'll regret it.
You aren't big enough to face down a corporation trying to protect its sullied reputation.
Even billionaires know when to stop yapping.

1) How long is the statue of limitations for them to file this claim? It won't matter, unless they litigate in the US in CO.
Colorado (CO) – Libel or slander SOL: 1 year

2) Can this company file their defamation suit in Canada (vs in my home state of the U.S.)?
They can file in Canada, but the border protects you.
They more than likely would file in CO.

3) If filed in Canada, and a potential judgement in their favor (extermely doubtful, but I like to be prepared), how enforceable is that claim on me in the U.S.?
Foreign judgments can get domesticated.
Before they'd do that, they'd file in CO.

4) If I file a SLAPP counter suit against them and win, how enforceable is that judgement against that company in Canada?
A company would more than likely move to have the lawsuit dismissed for lack of jurisdiction against a Canadian citizen and person by a US court.

 

[ElleMD]

I see absolutely no basis what so ever for you to file a counter suit. Filing a truly bogus suit in retaliation is unlikely to end pleasantly for you. Just don't do it.

Do yourself a favor and remove the postings. The company has far deeper pockets than you do.

 

[ColoLegal]

Let's just keep it simple.
That 2500 + mile long northern border, it protects BOTH of you.
International civil lawsuits are rare, for want of proper service and "long arm" statutes not long enough to breach any jurisdictional protections.

Now, if that Canadian corporation has a US based subsidy (or other US based entity); all bets are off.

You'd still have to be sued in Colorado, depending on how upset the company is with your comments, (plus their deep pockets) that sometimes does happen.

Do yourself a favor, just don't leave bread crumbs that track back to you, if you can't restrain yourself from on social media.
Better yet, just don't behave that way in the future.
Why?
I'm sure you don't want to financially jeopardize your family for nothing.
Don't leave your safe open, your wallet full of cash and credit cards laying on your lawn.
By morning, you'll regret it.
You aren't big enough to face down a corporation trying to protect its sullied reputation.
Even billionaires know when to stop yapping.

Thank you for the excellent details, very much appreciated. I'll be digesting this over the next couple of days.

Based on some of the phrasing in the above, I wanted to clarify some items to ensure there is not a misunderstanding of the reason for my intentions on posting my experiences. It's not for financial gain, it's not for revenge, it is for the purpose of making other potential customers aware of my experiences so that they can make more informed decisions. With other contractors I posted / provided referrals with positive experiences for that same reason. I know when I go to purchase a good or service (say on Amazon with all their ratings for each item) I am grateful to see both the good and bad to make a better choice. It is the same rationale here.

Again, thanks for your feedback, I appreciate it and will thoughtfully consider it.

 

[ColoLegal]

I see absolutely no basis what so ever for you to file a counter suit. Filing a truly bogus suit in retaliation is unlikely to end pleasantly for you. Just don't do it.

Do yourself a favor and remove the postings. The company has far deeper pockets than you do.

The basis for a counter suit is that the original posting was very strict to relate factual / actual experiences, statistics, etc - not subjective opinions, generalities or vitriolic statements. I specified items such as the percentage of shipments that were late, the percentage of units damaged in shipments to me, the number of days deliveries were late. All of the items listed in the posting I documented and ensured I could support them with emails / conversations / etc. With this in mind I disagree that there is no basis for a counter suit. The company in question is not trying to stop the posting because of inaccuracies, they are trying to prevent the posting because it solely paints a picture of them they would prefer other potential customers not to see.

In a response above, I mentioned feedback that users list on Amazon on products that help other future consumers make informed choices (both positive and negative). If any company can simply threaten a defamation suit, regardless of the validity of the feedback posted, to prevent any negative feedback from appearing there would only be glowing positive reviews left. A company should not be able to silence reviews it disagrees with simply because 'it can'. I agree that company's will have deeper pockets than the rest of us, but I don't believe that means that consumers should just have to ignore or accepts poor products or customer service because of the financial pressure companies can exert to keep them quiet.

 

[army judge]

Thank you for the excellent details, very much appreciated. I'll be digesting this over the next couple of days.

Based on some of the phrasing in the above, I wanted to clarify some items to ensure there is not a misunderstanding of the reason for my intentions on posting my experiences. It's not for financial gain, it's not for revenge, it is for the purpose of making other potential customers aware of my experiences so that they can make more informed decisions. With other contractors I posted / provided referrals with positive experiences for that same reason. I know when I go to purchase a good or service (say on Amazon with all their ratings for each item) I am grateful to see both the good and bad to make a better choice. It is the same rationale here.

Again, thanks for your feedback, I appreciate it and will thoughtfully consider it.

Nonetheless, I'm sure the other party doesn't feel the love.
You're an adult, and can choose whatever course of action you desire.
As you deliberate and debate your options, be advised, choices have consequences.

 

[ElleMD]

This isn't the basis for a countersuit, it is the basis for a defense on the charge of defamation. BIG difference.