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held that, "We conclude, first, that Yelp’s manipulation of user reviews was not wrongful use of economic fear, and, second, that the business owners pled insufficient facts to make out a plausible claim that Yelp authored negative reviews of their businesses. Accordingly, we agree with the district court that these allegations do not support a claim for extortion."(p. 12) Secondarily, "In sum, to state a claim of economic extortion under both federal and
California law, a litigant must demonstrate either that he had a pre-existing right to be free from the threatened harm, or that the defendant had no right to seek payment for the service offered. Any less stringent standard would transform a wide variety of legally acceptable business dealings into extortion."(p. 18)
208:, "The director has a conflict of interest, as she has a history of trying to mislead consumers on Yelp. There is no merit to the claims they appear to highlight, which have been repeatedly dismissed by courts of law, investigated by government regulators, including the FTC, and disproven by academic study." Milliken, however, has since responded to Yelp's allegations, citing the fact that the reviews in question had appeared before she and her husband were married and that repeated reviews were submitted due to a misunderstanding.
228:'s "traditional editorial functions." Additionally, the firm's motive and ethical underpinnings are irrelevant under Section 230's editorializing allowance. Judge Chen concluded: "The Ninth Circuit has made it clear that the need to defend against a proliferation of lawsuits, regardless of whether the provider ultimately prevails, undermines the purpose of section 230."
29:
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According to the film's
Director/producer Kaylie Milliken, "business owners from across a broad spectrum who have stepped up and agreed to tell their personal stories of Yelp's questionable business dealings, all of which are vehemently denied by Yelp." Yelp shares slid 2% to $ 45.88 in early trading
231:
This judgment was appealed, and in 2014 the Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals found that businesses do not have a pre-existing right to have positive reviews, and that "threatening economic harm to induce a person to pay" therefore was not extortion under California law. In its primary ruling, the court
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Milliken said that she decided to take on the project when her doctor told her that she had begun seeing negative Yelp reviews for her practice that she was unable to reconcile with actual patient visits, and that she had become convinced that some of the reviews were fictitious when a complaint was
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Kaylie
Milliken: I was at a doctor about a year ago, and she started telling me about her experiences with Yelp. The more she talked about it, the more my jaw just kind of dropped. I knew that they had aggressive sales people -- my husband is a small-business owner and he's complained before about
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The Class Action lawsuit, being led by investor Joseph Curry, focuses on Yelp's "first-hand" reviews. The suit says Yelp required businesses "to pay to suppress negative reviews," and then lied about the practice.
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Yelp shares were down as much as 4% in afternoon trade on
Thursday, and traders are pointing to this Kickstarter project seeking to fund a documentary showing alleged abuses by the customer review service.
244:, explains that extortion by economic threat is a narrow construct and that this ruling only addresses extortion. Other 2014 pending cases against Yelp included false advertisement, and securities fraud.
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After the
Federal Trade Commission revealed a number of complaints, shareholders are taking Yelp to court, claiming Yelp artificially inflated the price of stock for its executive's benefit.
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how pushy they can be. But then she started telling me about receiving reviews, really negative reviews by clients, and she couldn't figure out who these clients were.
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surpassed its initial
Kickstarter funding goal of $ 60,000 by 150%. Subsequent campaigns were held during the production phase, including an Indiegogo campaign.
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announced on August 12, 2015, that public relations specialist
Michael Levine, would become the executive producer for
157:. The film was directed by Kaylie Milliken and produced by Prost Productions. The film was released on May 21, 2019.
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220:(2011), Judge Edward Chen, found that removal of positive reviews, or re-ordering of reviews, fell within the
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705:"Yelp Plays Defense as 'Billion Dollar Bully' Nears $ 60,000 Goal", CBS KPIX 5 Local (March 26, 2015)
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FTC Document - 5,392 Complaints against Yelp / Extortion / Libel / Unfair
Business ...
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this morning after Prost
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562:"Does Yelp Have The 'Most Trusted Reviews'? A Court Wants To Know More"
478:"An Exclusive Look at 'Billion Dollar Bully', a Film About Yelp"
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posted describing symptoms she had never seen in her practice.
632:"Yelp Documentary 'Billion Dollar Bully' Reaches Funding Goal"
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434:"Yelp Accused of Mob-Like Behavior in Upcoming Documentary"
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campaign, Yelp stock declined by 4% in afternoon trading.
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Levitt v. Yelp! Inc., 765 F.3d 1123 (9th Cir. 2014)
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315:. The Fly. 19 March 2015. Archived from
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532:Goldman, Eric (3 September 2014).
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588:PRESS RELEASE (6 August 2014).
396:UDLAND, MYLES (19 March 2015).
560:Goldman, Eric (30 July 2014).
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432:Bond, Paul (12 August 2015).
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634:. WebProNews. Archived from
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188:Billion Dollar Bully
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