Expresso Drive Through, a drive-through coffee outlet in Murrumbeena, has apparently threatened me with a lawsuit for defamation if I don’t remove my post regarding their company (which said, among other things, that they serve bad coffee).
Rather than email me or send me a nasty letter, their threat is in a comment left on my About page. Here it is, in full:
“without prejudice”
NOTICE OF INTENTION TO BEGIN LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
IF THE DEFAMATION REGARDING EXPRESSO DRIVE THRU IN MURRUMBEENA IS NOT REMOVED FROM YOUR WEBSITE WITHIN 7 DAYS (BY 27/2/2008) WE WILL BE TAKING LEGAL ACTION AGAINST YOU FOR DAMAGES AND ALSO OBTAINING A COURT ORDER TO HAVE IT REMOVED.
IF YOU WISH TO CONTACT US TO DISCUSS PLEASE PHONE US ON (03) 9939 0830.
BEST REGARDS,
It ends at the comma.
I highly doubt that they intend to sue me, particularly not after reading this post.
Why? Because, first of all, it is quite common for companies to threaten to sue when they have no intention of following through, in order to silence critics.
Second of all, defamation is notoriously hard to prove in the courts. It would cost probably hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees to pursue the case. All this, against a blog that almost nobody reads? Come on!
Thirdly, most companies cannot now sue for defamation under Australian defamation law, after a law change of a few years ago.
I don’t know about you, but I despise the tactic of empty legal threats. For this reason, the post - and this one - shall remain on the site.
What do you think? I encourage you to state your opinion, both on this blog, and by contacting Expresso Drive Thru.
You can contact them at the phone number above, or by emailing expressodrivethru@hotmail.com.
ALL PUBLICITY IS GOOD PUBLICITY: Expresso’s hot chocolates are the worst ever, according to a commenter at the Melbourne Victory Forum, where a kind soul has started a thread about this topic.
MORE READING: Another idiotic legal threat from discount card company 22 Percent Off. Also read my post about defamation law.
34 comments
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February 23, 2008 at 4:21 am
Ian Pardon
did they think that you’ll be afraid of their ALL CAPS THREAT?
why did they post it on your about page? not even an email?
February 23, 2008 at 4:35 am
Jonk
Yeh very, very bizarre
And a very nice SEO spam by “Ian Pardon” there, very nice…
February 23, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Benjamin
Sweet! I love that someone has done a vanity search on google, come up with something they don’t like, and tried to throw some legalese at you to scare you, and totally failed. Nice work
February 24, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Holly
Wow, that’s a little ridiculous. I agree, though, they most likely have no intention on following through and if they do, what is the worst that can happen? Will a court even see that as a real case? All publicity is indeed good publicity because by you saying that they serve bad coffee that will make your readers want to go and see for themselves.
February 25, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Robert Hruzek
Hilarious!
Hey, this is just the sortof thing that you can use to springboard yourself and MOAI to instant stardom, Mark! I can see the storyline now: The obscure little guy blogger being harassed by the evil mean giant corporation! Maybe we should organize a press conference or something.
Or, hmmm… maybe I’ll just go buy someone else’s coffee. *sigh*
February 26, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Artikelverzeichnis
Wow, that’s a little interesting. I agree, though, they most likely have ….. All publicity is indeed good publicity because by you saying that they serve bad coffee.
February 27, 2008 at 10:26 am
bobby
Whatever you do, dont remove the post. What a load of crap and they leave it on your about page, c’mon, that is garbage.
February 28, 2008 at 5:01 am
Utah Heavy Hauling
sue you for your blog postings? can they even do that? I would think not… isnt there some kind of freedom of speech where you can say whatever you want? i wouldnt worry about them sueing you…
March 1, 2008 at 3:13 am
mac
Just ignore it. Keep on giving your own opinions on any subjects. Blog like this is needed in a time like this. We have our rights to express our way of thinking. The customer is always right! we have the power so use it. Do not back down just because a threat been made. Keep up the good work! i will spread the words in my blog..
March 1, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Home Security Guru
This is an example of a company or proprietor going totally overboard and overreacting. You’re entitled to your opinion–you can’t get sued just for expressing an opinion. This is funny.
March 4, 2008 at 3:47 am
360 Degrees
i agree that all publicity is good publicity, so I guess both you and this co. get some-even if neither likes it. The funniest part to me is that their email to you ends at Best Regards,. Best Regards from nobody, right?
March 4, 2008 at 10:49 am
Brad Hart
I find it almost laughable that the company that is threatening to sue people over their online activities is using a hotmail address for their email.
March 7, 2008 at 7:38 am
Bradley - Smokers
Good for you. Keep saying and posting what you want. That is what freedom of speech is all about. There is no way that anything would ever stand up in court, if anything it would gain national coverage and then the company would back out because they would realize what a stupid mistake they are making.
Cheers.
March 8, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Dee Nation
Truth is the best defence to defamation my dear. Is there anything called good coffee objectively. You opinions are important damn right.
March 16, 2008 at 6:12 am
JACL
Clearly a lawyer never wrote that. A lawyer would send it on letter head and would sign it. Sounds like some kid wrote that.
March 18, 2008 at 3:27 am
Matt
Legal threats in comment areas? Wow, that’s new.
March 20, 2008 at 1:14 am
Jeff Gordon
legal threats ?
March 25, 2008 at 9:30 am
Robert
Ridiculous.
Well, you just keep on defaming, and let us know what happens!
March 26, 2008 at 12:57 am
Guy M'Naghten
I wouldn’t worry about a defamation suit. Personal opinion is not defamation. If that was the case, there wouldn’t be bad movie reviews, product reviews, etc. Now if you made up facts and said that the company used contaminated water to make their espresso, then you might have something to worry about.
March 26, 2008 at 9:35 am
moggy
He who last last laughs longest!
March 28, 2008 at 3:05 am
Webmaster Community
That company doesn’t know the law very well, so you don’t have to worry about any problems.
March 30, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Pete Aldin
If I were them, I’d have worked with you not against you on this. What they should concentrate on is listening to consumers, improving their product and building a relationship with you to improve their PR.
This kind of heavy handed adversarial approach is so tired.
April 1, 2008 at 6:48 am
markk
I definitely agree, Pete.
In the past, I’ve had people tell me I’ve got it wrong on a coffee review, and I always offer to do another review. Two coffee shops have got substantially better reviews as a result of this. You won’t see me giving Expresso Drive Thru another chance, though!
Makes me wonder if they have any confidence in their own product.
April 1, 2008 at 7:14 am
Pete Aldin
Yes, unfortunately the lesson for all of us business owners is clear: offer a great product and give great service, or you won’t survive.
…and you know, you don’t see too many restaurant critics getting sued over bad reviews do you?
April 1, 2008 at 11:37 pm
bathroombuzz
phew… what about freedom of speech ?
April 8, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Billy
Fair play to you markk for not backing down.
May 29, 2008 at 4:38 pm
friends of coffee
it is interesting to note that despite a request for your address to serve legal papers you have not provided this to them. I think to be fair to them you should give your full name and address to them, and be prepared for any action if any. Easy to hide behind a blog Mark. You look like a fool, and are certainly acting like one Mark!
May 29, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Dee
What rubbish! Why should he help them to do their job. That is foolish. Let them incur all costs possible to file, serve and then lose this ridiculous lawsuit.
May 30, 2008 at 6:14 am
Joe Takkle
With all the comments of support and understanding that you know the law. It is interesting to see a company continue with threats when they should clearly see they have no case against you.
May 30, 2008 at 8:03 am
markk
Dee, you’ve hit the nail on the head. I laughed out loud when I read that.
Thanks for the support, everyone.
February 13, 2009 at 5:06 pm
mikey
heh mark, how come you delete the posts praising their coffee and only keep posts heaping shit on them?? I this really blogging or you playing games?? Bet you you delete this post too you loser!
February 13, 2009 at 5:07 pm
johnny
heh mikey, you notice that too. Markk only thinks we are fools!
February 23, 2009 at 7:06 pm
markk
johnny/mikey, couldn’t help but notice you are both posting from the same IP address!
February 23, 2009 at 9:33 pm
Mat
lol @ mikey and jonny the losers