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Friday, March 29, 2024

Fertility Bridge settles with New Jersey, will remove libel clause from consumer contracts

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NEWARK, N.J. (Legal Newsline) — New Jersey Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino and the Division of Consumer Affairs announced Jan. 4 that Fertility Bridges will settle allegations it effectively barred consumers from posting negative reviews of the website online.

 

“Customers have the right to complain publicly about what they feel are substandard services rendered by a company,” Porrino said. “This consent order, along with the just-signed federal law, reaffirms that right for all Americans.”


 

According to the state, Fertility Bridge threatened consumers by stating that if consumers posted a negative review of the company on crowd-sourced review websites, Fertility Bridge would go after them with libel fines of $10,000 per day for as long the content remained online. 

 

“Fertility Bridges placed an unfair restriction on its customers,” said Steve Lee, director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. “Our hope is that the division’s action will discourage companies from attempting to stifle customer complaints and will encourage consumers to evaluate and review companies that they do business with.”

 

In accordance with the settlement agreement, Fertility Bridge will remove the clause from their contracts moving forward. The company will also pay a $1,500 fine.

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