Virginia's highest court ruled on Thursday that Yelp doesn't have to disclose the identities of online users accused by a small business owner of posting fraudulent negative reviews about his carpet-cleaning company.

The court decided the issue on jurisdictional grounds, not on the more controversial constitutional question about the rights of online reviewers to post critical comments behind a veil of anonymity.

The closely watched dispute before Virginia’s highest court centered on a complaint brought by the owner of Hadeed Carpet Cleaning Inc. in Springfield, Va., Joe Hadeed, who claimed his suburban business was besieged by a rash of harsh Yelp reviews in 2012. That summer, he sued seven reviewers for defamation and demanded that Yelp disclose their identities.

Mr. Hadeed claimed the reviews were posted by competitors and says sales plummeted after the comments were posted. Yelp argued that without proof of his claims, the users had a First Amendment right to post anonymously.

A state trial court and the Virginia Court of Appeals sided with Mr. Hadeed, holding Yelp in contempt for not turning over the names. The company then took its case to the Virginia Supreme Court.