The owner of Boston-based Pageo Jewelry is suing an anonymous Yelp reviewer, "Linda G.," who panned his store's service. Now, Pageo owner George Pelz's lawsuit has run into opposition: Yelp is being represented by Public Citizen's Paul Levy, who has filed a brief (PDF) defending Linda G.'s right to speak anonymously.

In a hearing this morning in Boston Municipal Court, Levy will argue that the Pageo lawsuit must be thrown out. The case could set precedent in Massachusetts when it comes to determining when an anonymous speaker can be unmasked with a lawsuit. Only 14 states have clear rules about when anonymous speakers can be unmasked, according to Levy.

"We’re in this case because Massachusetts doesn’t have an appellate case on the issue," Levy said in an interview with Ars. "I like to be involved in the first case in a state. We hope the court will recognize that consumers should have the right to share their negative experiences with potential other customers online, and companies should not be able to use the courts to bully them into silence."

“You are a Yelp Terrorist”

The dispute began in February of this year, when Linda G., who now lives in Boulder, Colorado, wrote a one-star review on Pageo's Yelp page describing how she felt she was poorly paid for jewelry she sold back to the store, despite being a loyal customer. The review reads, in part:

Run! Way overpriced, but worse than that is the ethics or LACK THEREOF!! My husband, myself and some friends of ours were loyal customers of Pageo Newton, Nantucket and Boston. Together we spent 100s of thousands of dollars on some gorgeous but definitely way overpriced jewelry. It would be cheaper to fly to Italy, get a villa and buy it yourself! ...at one point I was in a very desperate situation and I sold my diamond ring to George my wedding ring/engagement ring. I was in abusive relationship... I thought I could trust him since I had given him so much business , but basically gave me not even near one 10th of what it was worth, but I was so desperate I took it so I could find a place to live and get away from my abusive husband who controlled all of our assets... George took all the jewelry that I had ever bought there and gave me peanuts for it!!

Pelz reached out to Yelp and demanded the removal of the post, but the company didn't comply. "Yelp examined the review, [and] determined that it appeared to reflect the user’s personal experience and opinions," wrote Levy in his brief on Yelp's behalf.

Unable to get help from the Yelp higher-ups, Pelz wrote a bitter missive to Linda G. on his own review page. "You are a Yelp Terrorist," Pelz wrote on March 7. "How do you respond to a complete fabrication? There is not a single word of truth in the Linda G. post. This 'story' is complete fiction."

That inspired Linda G., who now lives in Boulder, Colorado, to write more. The "terrorist" name-calling was "laughable," she wrote. She added that she believed Pelz may have "scammed and ripped off many other vulnerable and desperate women who had to sell their jewelry."

Want a name? Show some evidence

In July, Pelz filed a lawsuit (PDF) against Linda G, saying that her statements amounted to defamation. By writing on Yelp that Pageo "lacked ethics" and that Pelz paid her "peanuts" and didn't give her "near one 10th of what [the jewelry] was worth," Linda G. crossed a line, according to Pelz and his lawyers. "The foregoing statements were and are wholly false and untrue and defamed PAGEO and George Pelz," the complaint states. "Mr. Pelz suffered personal humiliation, shame and disgrace and mental suffering as a direct result of this."

Yelp isn't being sued, but it was issued a Massachusetts subpoena seeking to depose the "Keeper of Records" and to get documents regarding the "name and address" of Linda G. Doe. Yelp objected, arguing that the subpoena violates Doe's First Amendment right to speak anonymously and that the subpoena should be based in California in any case.

"The right to speak anonymously is fully applicable online," writes Levy in his brief, noting that there are a number of reasons, including fear of harassment or retaliation, that a speaker might wish to stay anonymous. The Massachusetts Constitution requires strict scrutiny of an attempt to identify an anonymous speaker, and "the mere fact that a plaintiff has filed suit does not create a compelling government interest in taking away a defendant’s anonymity."

Under the leading test, known as Dendrite v. Doe, a plaintiff should be required to produce evidence of the claims in the complaint, not mere allegations, Levy writes. And Pelz's suit fails the test badly. He concludes:

[D]espite Yelp’s repeated requests, plaintiffs have produced no evidence that any of the statements made about them by Linda G. are defamatory, or that they have caused damage to plaintiffs’ business reputation. Plaintiffs were given every opportunity to submit such evidence, in that the constitutional requirement was noted both in Yelp’s written objections and in its counsel’s efforts to meet and confer. For that reason (as well as the jurisdictional reason argued below) the motion to compel discovery regarding the identity of Linda G. Doe should be denied.

Yelp and Levy are also challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the case, asking that the lawsuit be moved to California. Pelz didn't respond to an e-mailed request for comment on this story.