Can you sue someone for leaving a bad review? Sometimes, if the review makes an untrue allegation of fact about you and it causes serious harm to your reputation. A review that’s just unfair or harsh usually won’t be enough. A solicitor has just been awarded £9,500 against a former client whose Google review called him “a fraudster”, which shows it can be done, and also how little a claim like this can be worth once the court has looked at the evidence.
The case is Conroy v Stojek [2026] EWHC 2429 (KB), a decision of Deputy Master Marzec in the High Court’s Media and Communications List, handed down on 22 September 2026. The reviewer never defended the claim, so this was a hearing to assess damages after default judgment, but the judgment is useful for any business owner staring at a review they think crosses a line.
A fee dispute, then a review
Mr Conroy has been a solicitor since 1987 and runs a small Birmingham firm. A client, Mr Stojek, was unhappy with the service and didn’t pay. The firm sued for its fees, got judgment for about £16,000 and then a charging order over his house.
In April 2025 Mr Stojek posted a one-star Google review. It started “Do not use. Very awful man”, said Mr Conroy looks at how much money you have and then “rips you off”, and called him “a fraudster” who would “take your house over a small amount of money”.
That’s the sort of review many businesses get after a dispute over money. The client is angry, the business thinks it’s been reasonable, and the review lands a week later. What made this one actionable was the word “fraudster” and the allegation of deliberate overcharging.
Unhappy is allowed; untrue allegations of fact aren’t
Most bad reviews are opinion. “Poor service”, “overpriced”, “I wouldn’t use them again” are things a customer is entitled to say, and section 3 of the Defamation Act 2013 gives a defence of honest opinion where the basis for it is indicated. A review that’s true is protected by the defence of truth under section 2.
Mr Stojek said his review was just his opinion. The judge disagreed: “rips you off” and “fraudster” were allegations of fact, meaning dishonest overcharging and fraud. In cross-examination he accepted none of it was true.
You have to show serious harm
This is where most review claims struggle. Under section 1 of the Defamation Act 2013, a statement is only defamatory if it has caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm to your reputation (and for a business trading for profit, serious financial loss).
Mr Conroy had very little evidence. He couldn’t name a client he’d lost, had nothing showing fewer enquiries, and hadn’t got any data from Google about how many people had seen the review. Even so, the court inferred serious harm from the circumstances. The reviewer used his real name and wrote as a former client, which made him credible. Google is where people look up a firm, and the review was up for about ten months. Two people had “liked” it. And it was one of only five reviews, so almost anyone looking would have seen it.
That last point is worth thinking about if you’re a small business. One bad review among 400 is noise. One among five is a fifth of what a prospective customer reads.
Why £30,000 became £9,500
Mr Conroy claimed £30,000. The judge started from a low five-figure sum, because fraud allegations go to the heart of a solicitor’s reputation, then brought it down because there was so little evidence of how far the review had spread; that’s something the claimant has to prove. The public judgment itself also counted as vindication. There was no claim for aggravated damages, so suggestions that the review was malicious didn’t add anything, and the injunction was refused because the review had already been taken down under an undertaking and there was no sign he’d repost it.
Costs aren’t dealt with in this judgment. But if you’re weighing up a High Court claim to recover a five-figure sum, the cost of getting there is a large part of the decision.
If you’ve had a review you think is defamatory
Start by asking whether it’s an opinion you don’t like or an allegation of fact you can show is untrue. Most bad reviews are the first, and a calm public reply often does more good than a solicitor’s letter (anyone with Google reviews, me included, has had to resist replying to one late at night).
If it is the second, gather evidence straight away. Screenshot the review with the date, note any likes or replies, keep a record of anyone who mentions it, and look at whether enquiries or conversions dropped. The lack of that evidence is what brought Mr Conroy’s award down. Report it to the platform too, because a review that breaches its policies can sometimes be removed far more cheaply than by suing. After that, a letter before claim asking for removal and an apology is the usual first step. Mr Conroy sent one within nine days; it didn’t work, and the review only came down ten months later, when the reviewer offered an undertaking at a court hearing.
I don’t run defamation claims myself; those go to my Nexa colleagues who deal with defamation and social media claims, and unpaid invoices to colleagues who do debt recovery. I help owner-managed businesses with their contracts and terms, which is where many of these fee disputes start. Get in touch if you need some help.
Written by Steven Mather, a business solicitor acting on company sales and purchases. This is general information about the law, not legal advice on your situation.
Written by Steven Mather, a business solicitor acting on company sales and purchases. This is general information about the law, not legal advice on your situation.
