The owner of the solicitorsfromhell website faces a £45,000 bill after failing to remove defamatory comments about a lawyer.
Rick Kordowski set up the site five years ago after a bad experience with a local law firm. Readers are encouraged to postany old rubbish constructive criticism of lawyers on the site - but when the solicitor gets in touch to complain Kordowski offers to remove the offending content in return for an "admin fee" of up to £299.
This ingenious model of revenue generation landed Kordowski in trouble earlier this year, when an irate lawyer refused to pay up and instructed Carter Ruck to go after him. At the time Kordowski told RollOnFriday that he didn't know what the firm was hoping to achieve as he didn't have any money. And he has even less now. This week a High Court Judge ruled in favour of yet another lawyer that Kordowski had tried to charge for the removal of defamatory content. He ordered Kordowski to pay £17,500 in damages and £28,000 in costs.
This is the third time in a month that Kordowski has been on the end of a judicial kicking. Justice Edwards-Stewart issued an injunction preventing him from publishing material about another lawyer on 23rd September, and Justice Tugendhat followed suit on 1st October.
But Kordowski's bovvered bag remains empty. He told RollOnFriday that no one would get a penny from him, as he didn't have a penny. He said he couldn't care less if he was declared bankrupt - he didn't even have a bank account, and "they can't take away my website as it's a tool of my trade". But he did need some cash "to go towards future costs of filing applications, appeals and other court costs", so he's launched "a membership scheme where the public can talk to each other about their legal experiences in total privacy".
He confirmed that "nothing will be changed on the main site. It will still have open access to anyone who wants to complain about their solicitor". So the injunctions may continue for a while yet...
Tip Off ROF
Rick Kordowski set up the site five years ago after a bad experience with a local law firm. Readers are encouraged to post
This ingenious model of revenue generation landed Kordowski in trouble earlier this year, when an irate lawyer refused to pay up and instructed Carter Ruck to go after him. At the time Kordowski told RollOnFriday that he didn't know what the firm was hoping to achieve as he didn't have any money. And he has even less now. This week a High Court Judge ruled in favour of yet another lawyer that Kordowski had tried to charge for the removal of defamatory content. He ordered Kordowski to pay £17,500 in damages and £28,000 in costs.
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Balanced, unbiased, responsible comment |
This is the third time in a month that Kordowski has been on the end of a judicial kicking. Justice Edwards-Stewart issued an injunction preventing him from publishing material about another lawyer on 23rd September, and Justice Tugendhat followed suit on 1st October.
But Kordowski's bovvered bag remains empty. He told RollOnFriday that no one would get a penny from him, as he didn't have a penny. He said he couldn't care less if he was declared bankrupt - he didn't even have a bank account, and "they can't take away my website as it's a tool of my trade". But he did need some cash "to go towards future costs of filing applications, appeals and other court costs", so he's launched "a membership scheme where the public can talk to each other about their legal experiences in total privacy".
He confirmed that "nothing will be changed on the main site. It will still have open access to anyone who wants to complain about their solicitor". So the injunctions may continue for a while yet...