• Hero Banner
  • ACVCACVC
  • DVM 360
  • Fetch DVM 360Fetch DVM 360
DVM 360
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
By Role
AssociatesOwnersPractice ManagerStudentsTechnicians
Subscriptions
dvm360 Newsletterdvm360 Magazine
News
All News
Association
Breaking News
Education
Equine
FDA
Law & Ethics
Market Trends
Medical
Products
Recalls
Regulatory
Digital Media
dvm360 LIVE!™
Expert Interviews
The Vet Blast Podcast
Medical World News
Pet Connections
The Dilemma Live
Vet Perspectives™
Weekly Newscast
dvm360 Insights™
Publications
All Publications
dvm360
Firstline
Supplements
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vetted
Clinical
All Clinical
Anesthesia
Animal Welfare
Behavior
Cardiology
CBD in Pets
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diabetes
Emergency & Critical Care
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine
Exotic Animal Medicine
Feline Medicine
Gastroenterology
Imaging
Infectious Diseases
Integrative Medicine
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Parasitology
Pharmacy
Surgery
Toxicology
Urology & Nephrology
Virtual Care
Business
All Business
Business & Personal Finance
Buying or Selling a Practice
Hospital Design
Leadership & Personal Growth
Personnel Management
Practice Finances
Practice Operations
Technology
Wellbeing & Lifestyle
Continuing Education
Conferences
Live Conferences
Conference News
Conference Proceedings
Resources
CBD in Pets
Contests
Veterinary Heroes
Partners
Spotlight Series
Team Meeting in a Box
Toolkit
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vet to Vet
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
By Role
  • Associates
  • Owners
  • Practice Manager
  • Students
  • Technicians
Subscriptions
  • dvm360 Newsletter
  • dvm360 Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us
  • MJHLS Brand Logo

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Calif. veterinarian sues Yelp.com alleging extortion

February 26, 2010
Rachael Zimlich, BSN, RN

A Calif. vet is alleging extortion in a lawsuit filed on Feb. 24 against Yelp, an online review site for consumers.

Long Beach, Calif.

-- A California veterinarian is alleging extortion in a lawsuit filed on Feb. 24 against Yelp, an online review site for consumers. The DVM's lawsuit claims that Yelp's advertising sales representatives allegedly offered to hide bad reviews in exchange for an advertising contract.

“This is just about them doing the right thing. This is supposed to be a legitimate review site,” Dr. Greg Perrault, owner of Cats and Dogs Animal Hospital in Long Beach, Calif. tells DVM Newsmagazine. “I don’t want money. I want them to act ethically and stop what they are doing."

In a written statement to DVM Newsmagazine, Yelp refutes Perrault's allegations and the company plans to challenge claims made in the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court, Central District of California.

Perrault's problems with Yelp first began in September 2009. A negative review was posted on the site from a client who visited his hospital nearly two years prior. Yelp’s policy requires posting reviews within 12 months of a visit.

Advertisement

Since the review was so old, Perrault's practice asked the company to remove it. They complied. But within days, Perrault’s practice started receiving a high volume of sales calls from the company, he alleges, all urging him to begin advertising on the Web site. In return for advertising on the site, Perrault claims that Yelp representatives offered to hide negative reviews or list them lower on the Web site, and block negative comments picked up by Internet search engines. Each time he declined Yelp’s advertising offer, Perrault contends negative reviews would appear more prominently on his hospital’s page listing. Some old reviews even reappeared under new names, he says.

Vince Sollitto, of Yelp.com, responded in a written statement, "Yelp provides a valuable service to millions of consumers and businesses precisely because of its trusted content. The allegations are false and demonstrably so: Yelp treats review content equally for advertisers and non-advertisers alike and does not offer to remove negative reviews for advertisers. A quick look at any of our thousands of advertisers' pages will show both positive and negative reviews; most businesses understand that this demonstrates authenticity to consumers. “Advertisers buy advertising and nothing more," Sollitto counters. "They do not have the ability to control the reviews on their page, and Yelp does not remove negative reviews from advertisers' pages or offer to do so in exchange for advertising. This credibility of review content is what makes Yelp useful and why 29 million people used Yelp to find a great local business last month."

Still, the lawsuit cites a number of other complaints from other businesses criticizing Yelp for similar business practices.

“I felt unless I pay this money, I’ll be continue to be bombarded by bad reviews,” Perrault says. “You’ve got no recourse as a business owner. It’s just a very bizarre time we live in.”Perrault’s complaint seeks a class-action declaration, reimbursement for attorney’s fees and court costs. In addition, the complaint asks that Yelp be forced to stop the practices mentioned in the complaint and ordered to repay the revenue it earned through the use of these business practices.

Related Content:

Law & EthicsBreaking News
Updates on state legislation for veterinary virtual care
Updates on state legislation for veterinary virtual care
The new Shreiber School of Veterinary Medicine breaks ground
The new Shreiber School of Veterinary Medicine breaks ground
Off to the Races with the xylazine state of affairs
Off to the Races with the xylazine state of affairs

Advertisement

Latest News

I graduated veterinary school in 2023: Here are my takeaways

Life after coming out in veterinary medicine

Free microchipping event to take place in Chicago

Zoo announces birth of critically endangered red wolf pups

View More Latest News
Advertisement