Devanney Quoted in the Bloomberg BNA: Lawyers' Manual on Professional Conduct Story Titled “Court Affirms $350k Verdict for Lawyer Smeared on Avvo”

Colleen Devanney, an associate in the Vorys Cincinnati office and a member of the litigation group, was quoted in a Bloomberg BNA: Lawyers' Manual on Professional Conduct story titled “Court Affirms $350k Verdict for Lawyer Smeared on Avvo.”

The story was about an appellate court finding in Florida that found that false allegations of dishonesty that a former client made in online reviews of her lawyer were held not protected by the First Amendment.

The story states:

“Lawyers who file defamation suits predicated on allegedly libelous online reviews face a high evidentiary burden in jurisdictions that do require a showing of actual damages, according to Colleen M. Devanney, a lawyer in the Cincinnati office of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP.

It is ‘going to be hard to prove actual damages’ in such cases because ‘you don't know how many people saw’ an allegedly defamatory review, Devanney told Bloomberg BNA.”

To read the entire story, visit the Bloomberg BNA website. (Subscription may be required).