Critical Tweet Lands Chicago Tenant in Libel Suit

ok first of all after having looked for a house to buy over the past 6 months i came to find out there is mold in every building out there and you cannot escape it. its to the point of where it is a health hazard that it becomes a problem. and there are various types of mold and mildew. some people are allergic to even the slightest bit..

His little "sue first, ask later" statement will probably bring more financial damage than her tweet about mold. Plus, now the entire country has heard about the tenant's complaint. The owners should have just let it go.

I hope they don't try to sue me for saying this!!!

They won't win. For 2 reasons. One, FREEDOME OF SPEECH. She can say what she wants if it's her opinion. Two, if there is ONE SPECK of mold anywhere on any of the properties owned by them, her remark would be proven true!

Calm down psycho, no one deserves to be followed home, raped, murdered or anything else just because they are on myspace or twitter. You sound like a miserable bitter old lady.

I'm sorry, but just because you choose to use the internet to keep in touch with friends/family by using MySpace, Twitter etc. does NOT mean you deserve to be raped, robbed, abused, kidnapped, murdered or any of the other horrible things that earsstinks seems to believe to be deserved. I'm a military spouse and one of the only ways for me to stay in touch with my family (on the opposite coast) is by using MySpace.

As a side note, why is it inappropriate for your niece to give advice to your daughter-in-law but it's perfectly ok for you to give your ignorant opinions?

The internet can be perfectly safe as long as you take precautions like setting your page to private and only excepting people you know as friends.

As for this article... I've dealt with management companies before and with most of them you have to threaten to break your lease to get them to do any serious repairs. I had to hound one landlord for a week in the middle of a record breaking heat wave to get my a/c fixed and with the same landlord I had to call him every time it rained because my basement would flood. He would take weeks to come around and I'd have mold growing in the walls due to the drywall getting wet. Instead of replacing the drywall and fixing the real problem (a drainage issue along one side of the house) he would spray the walls down with bleach water and declare it fixed.

This guy thought he was a good landlord. That's how most landlords/ management companies think. They do less than the minimum, then get pissed when they have unsatisfied tenants that complain about them. I hope this woman documented each attempt to let the management company know about the mold and she counter sues the h*ll out of them.

Tenants have rights , and even though they very slightly from state to state . Website where tenants rights can be down loaded. (www.arisecitizens.org/tenant.htm) good luck

What ever happen to the 1st Admendment, Freedom of Speach. I am sure this tweeter really hurt their business. It's just the same old thing, Big company putting the screws to the little person.

I dont think she should be sued I think he should be sued and he needs to do something to fix the problem.Mold is very dangerous and can be fatal.I have the same problem here and have breathing problems as a result of it and just like her the land lord is doing nothing about it.And probably just like her I CANT AFFORD TO MOVE>>>>>

This story never happened,... the purpose of the article is to instill fear and Silence so that citizens are less likely to talk openly about Corporation injustice.

Any libel suit can be won easily if the tenant is telling the truth or speaking her opinion based on her own personal experience with that company. If the tenant takes a photo/video of the mold and her apartment appears to be clean, she will ultimately win
the lawsuit, and Horizon will end up paying her court costs.

The suit is ridiculous to begin with. People constantly misunderstand libel/slander and think that just because someone said something offensive to them that it's automatically libel/slander. Most courts are going to see it for what it is; nothing more than retaliation and a way around the first amendment.

Libel and slander are extremely hard cases to win in court unless it can be proven without a doubt that the tenant is lying and that her intent is to harm the company's reputation.

This company is hurting its own reputation. People are going to judge Horizon much more by the frivolity of this suit more than anything the tenant said.

In short, you can sue anyone for anything; however, winning a suit is far less certain.

I had mold growing on the walls of an apt I once lived in, the landlord did nothing about it. I called the city health dept and they sent somebody over to check it out. The mold turned out to be toxic mold and the landlord ( who happened to be a lawyer ) was sited and forced to remove the mold. I also moved out and told the landlord if they were thinking about charging me a fee for breaking the lease to make sure they could afford a million dollar law suit.

Mold is Crazy DANGEROUS and has to be removed by licensed mold remediators, and then testing must be done to insure the safety of the tenants, land lord might be stepping into something he soulda fixed a while ago. WHAT HAPPEN TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH ANY WAY? This whole country's a bunch whiny pansy's. serves her right for being a trendy DB anyway. i don't know who i hate more. oh AIM i guess for making me look at this crap every time i sign on. don't sue me.

So let me get this straight? A business that a consumer purchases a service from can sue said customer for what they say about their product? If this is successful, then businesses will be able to get away with all kinds of bad customer service and products. You'd better believe that a consumer living in a free country should have every right to expose bad service and practices to whoever will hear it. What's next? Getting sued because you mention a car dealer that sells you a lemon? Customer service is already going into the crapper in this country, this is the final nail in the coffin.

If the tenant has any common sense, she will push for the judge to call a mistrial. The lawyer is a member of the family that owns the management company. Can you say "conflict of interest?"

I had a landlord that like that. We had mold (which my neighbors told me was there BEFORE I ever moved in) we complained and she had the nerve to say we brought it with us. Ok any sane person knows mold doesnt transfer that way. Especially since it was in our walls, our bathroom, ect. So she complained about mold. Her statement obviously was made after first complaining to managment. Investigate, fix the problem, and avoid egg on your face later. Also, with the statement they made about sueing first, Id get out of there if I were the other tenents. Or watch out should you car be a centimeter too far over and they sue you for a million.

WHERE IS THE AD FROM THE BIMBO IN LOVE WITH THE COLON CLEANSING PRODUCT? I THOUGHT THAT WAS A STANDARD COMPONENT OF ALL OF THESE CHATS?
HOPEFULLY THEY HAVE STARTED FILTERING THOSE OUT?

Apartments complexes are known for mold and mildew problems in the contractor world and at high levels.

They sued her? Then openly addmit that they are a sue first and ask questions later kind of business? If I was living in that building, you better bet from that comment on, that I would find something wrong in the building and take them all the way to the bank. Every building no matter how well it is taken care of has troubles. Just pick up a free copy of Tenants Rights Packet and read on. You have more rights than you think. Read up tenants. You will be surprised! Start looking for hidden dangers that could put you or others at harm. If they are there, you have a complaint. Simple. Sue first and ask questions later,........LOL what a way to make yourself look good. Never herd of such a thing. Must of come from the saying (shoot first and ask questins later) Both are as stupid as the thought that went into them.