DENVER — Acme Revival, a Jefferson County device repair company, is suing at least six online customers for defamation and according to court documents, alleges several negative reviews about their device repair business are false and defamatory.
As that battle plays out in court, some Acme customers are asking questions about if they are protected when posting.
Here's what Denver7 Investigates found.
The Consumer Review Fairness Act (CRFA)gives broad legal protections for people to share their honest opinions about a business’s products, services or conduct.
The law says it is legal for a business to remove a review that is libelous, clearly false or misleading. However, the Federal Trade Commission states, "It’s unlikely that a consumer’s assessment or opinion with which you disagree meets the 'clearly false or misleading' standard."
Meanwhile, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said he can't speak about any specific business or review, but said this is not a common lawsuit.
"It is very rare, and I think very unwise for businesses to sue customers because they don't like the review that they left," Weiser said. "What consumers need to know is that when they offer negative feedback and reviews, they're exercising what is important to the public, which is getting that information out there. And if businesses want to torment, harass, or otherwise deter an honest and fair review, that's not right. That is unfair business practices and we'll take allegations of that very seriously."
Weiser said anyone being targeted for leaving negative reviews should contact his office at stopfraudcolorado.gov.
Logan Beck, Acme Revival's owner and CEO, defended the defamation lawsuits.
"They're certainly able to leave honest feedback, but when they tell flat-out lies and falsehoods about Acme's operation, Acme has an inherent right to seek damages for those statements made," he said.
In the video below, Denver7 Investigates spoke with the business owner, and its customers, about their frustrations surrounding "device abandonment" at the company.
