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11 commentsTuesday, July 28, 2009

Chicago Resident Sued Over Moldy Tweet

140 characters could cost $50,000

UPDATE: 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?

Horizon Realty trending Twitter topic

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.

Woman sued over moldy tweet

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.

About the author:
Jeremy Muncy has been a part of the WebProNews team and the iEntry Network since 2003. Follow him on Twitter @jmuncy.

The Damage is Done

The act of suing and the associated publicity in this case may cause more damage than the actual tweet. I'll say no more than this.

Rather than sue, Horizon

Rather than sue, Horizon would be a lot better off if they accepted there was an issue, fixed it then tweeted about it. Unfortunately, the US a litigious society and this seems like a knee-jerk reaction from Horizon Realty. Oops... will I get sued now?

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