On November 12, 2014, the California Supreme Court denied review of the California Court of Appeals decision in Demetriades v. Yelp, Inc., 2014 WL 3661491 (Cal. App. July 24, 2014), which allowed a restaurant owner to proceed with false advertising and other claims against the consumer review site Yelp based upon Yelp’s marketing claims regarding the accuracy and efficacy of its automated “filter” that removes unreliable  or biased consumer reviews.

Companies, frustrated with their portrayal on online review sites, have mostly struck out when seeking to hold website operators liable for managing and displaying user-generated reviews.  However, the Demetriades case is one example where a court refused to dismiss claims against a consumer review site related to marketing representations. For a fuller treatment of the decision and a larger discussion of the interplay between marketing statements and immunity under CDA Section 230, see our prior post — Website Marketing Statements: The Achilles’Heel to CDA Protection?