Small Businesses Join Lawsuit Against Yelp
Nine small businesses have joined a lawsuit accusing local business review start-up Yelp Inc. of extortion and fraudulent business practices.
The newest plaintiffs were officially added Tuesday in an amended complaint filed by two law firms, the Weston Firm of San Diego and Beck & Lee Business Trial Lawyers of Miami. The new plaintiffs include a Chicago bakery, a Washington, D.C., restaurant and a California furniture store, among others.
The original plaintiff in the putative class action suit, a veterinary hospital in Long Beach, Calif., said it had asked Yelp to remove a negative consumer review that violated Yelp’s site guidelines. According to the complaint, San Francisco-based Yelp initially removed the review but it reappeared and Yelp later declined to remove it and other negative reviews. The suit alleges that Yelp’s sales representatives repeatedly contacted the hospital offering to hide any negative reviews if it bought advertising from Yelp.
