Yelp Is Suing A California Lawyer For Allegedly Writing His Own Bogus Reviews
Yelp says San Diego bankruptcy lawyer Julian McMillan had his employees write his reviews, and that he belonged to a cadre of lawyers who reviewed each other's firms.
The online review giant has gone after other companies for allegedly writing bogus reviews - including the company Adblaze, Bloomberg reports.
However, McMillan says the suit against him is retaliation for his own lawsuit accusing Yelp of failing to deliver on an advertising agreement. A judge ruled in his favor in April, and he began recruiting other businesses with similar beefs. McMillan has also claimed that after he canceled his advertising deal with Yelp his positive reviews plummeted, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Yelp filed its suit against McMillan a few days before an appeals court overturned the ruling in his favor, according to Bloomberg.
Yelp's Kristen Whisenand told Bloomberg that McMillan's lawsuit has nothing to do with the company's litigation against him. "We take a very aggressive stance against all attempts to mislead consumers," she wrote in an e-mail.