Talk about your tenant-landlord spat!
A Chicago corporate landlord has set the Internet world abuzz by suing a former resident for a seemingly offhand remark on Twitter about her “moldy” Uptown apartment.
The libel suit by Horizon Group Management alleged that Amanda Bonnen “maliciously and wrongfully published the false and defamatory tweet, thereby allowing the tweet to be spread throughout the world.”
But Bonnen had only about 20 Twitter followers at the time of her allegedly libelous tweet. By the time the news of the legal fight spread Tuesday around the Web, however, “Horizon Realty” hit as high as No. 3 on Twitter’s list of trending topics and made the front page of digg.com, in which users rate the top news of the day.
In a statement later in the day, Horizon disclosed that it found the objectionable tweet after lawyers for Bonnen last month filed a proposed class-action suit against the firm for alleged violations of the Chicago Landlord Tenant Ordinance.
“Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you?” Bonnen wrote on May 12. “Horizon realty thinks it’s okay.”
In its suit, filed last week in Cook County Circuit Court, Horizon is seeking at least $50,000, the threshold to be heard in the court’s Law Division.
In its statement, Horizon denied the allegations of mold but acknowledged a contractor caused a leak while making roof repairs last March at the apartment complex at 4242 N. Sheridan Rd. But the firm said all the grievances with tenants were resolved “amicably,” except Bonnen’s.
Bonnen moved out of her apartment “of her own volition” on June 30 and no mold was ever found her unit, Horizon said.
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The tweet heard round the world
In a blog post at http://su.pr/20MZDf, we asked our online and social media followers if they’d change their tweeting ways based on this story. Here are some of the replies. Find the change you are looking for by following us at twitter.com/redeyechicago.
COMPILED BY SCOTT KLEINBERG.
@aletheacc I’m going to start complaining now that I know companies are paying attention.
@espio No, because I tweet like I communicate normally: knowing that free speech is no shield for libel
@trekkieb47 I will not change how I tweet over fear of being sued by some greedy corp. There’s a little thing called the 1st Amendment.
@saulbhp it will not change the way I tweet in the slightest. Twitter helps the little guy express thoughts and opinions.
@mjlegel I firmly believe the truth shall set you free … so I tell the truth and shame the devil.
@FrostKL If companies want and encourage positive buzz via Twitter, they need to also accept negative buzz without lawsuits.
@FatJesus23 So i should be worried that the Bulls and Cubs will be filing suit since I blast them when they play like crap? How sad
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