LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Legal Newsline) – An Arkansas restaurant wants out of a defamation lawsuit brought by a woman shamed online for leaving a bad tip.
Cantina Laredo Little Rock filed a motion to dismiss Dec. 2 in Sheila Hayes’ lawsuit, which was filed in Pulaski County Circuit Court. Also named as a defendant is server Tracey Leann Williams, who took to the internet after a $4 tip on a $64 check in 2018.
Hayes used her catering business’ credit card to pay her check, then hours later found out the business – Taste of Elegance – was under fire on Facebook.
Sued under a theory that would make Cantina Laredo responsible for its employee’s behavior, the restaurant says Hayes fails to show she is entitled to relief from it. It also says Hayes failed to prove the elements of a defamation claim against Williams.
“An opinion does not constitute an actionable defamatory statement of fact unless the plaintiff can show that the allegedly defamatory statement implies an assertion of objectively verifiable fact about the plaintiff,” the motion says.
“A star rating does not state a fact and it is not susceptible to being proved true or false – it is an opinion. In fact many courts have held that ratings and reviews nearly always constitute unactionable opinion.”
Williams’ alleged cyber attack included a kitchen manager leaving a one-star rating for Taste of Elegance.
The dispute began July 31, 2018, after Hayes, her three sons and an employee of Taste of Elegance chose to patronize Cantina Laredo. Hayes' party dined, paid and left a $4 tip on a $64 check.
Within two hours of leaving, Hayes began receiving Facebook notifications via her phone. Thinking the alerts were personal Facebook messages, she silenced them.
Hayes was then notified, by phone calls, that the Taste of Elegance Facebook page was under cyber-attack by derogatory reviews/ratings of her business, to the point her rating dropping from 5 star to a 2 star in a matter of hours, the suit claims.
At approximately 10 p.m., Hayes received a private message via the Facebook messenger, from an individual advising, “Waitress Tracey LeeAnn Willams at Cantina Laredo had created a hate group to bash Taste of Elegance" because she wasn’t satisfied with the tip that was given, the suit says.
Hayes seeks a total of $400,000 in damages, attorney's fees and cost of suit. Hayes is represented by Willard Proctor, Jr.
Cantina Laredo says the lawsuit fails to allege Williams was acting within the scope of her employment.
“The most the alleged facts show is that Williams acted in pure self-interest when she negatively rated Plaintiff’s business because Plaintiff did not tip well,” the motion says.
“Defendant cannot be held liable for purely personal acts, and it certainly cannot be held liable for the acts of other Facebook users who made the independent choice to leave negative ratings.”