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Let them, later she can bring an inspector to come test for mold, if it's positive she can sue them back and get triple.

Twitter is just a recipe for trouble.

Emily

*sound of tongue being bit*

This would not make me want to do business with Jeffrey Michael of Horizon under any circumstances. "Sue first, ask questions later" --What a waste of our justice system!

"We're a 'sue first, ask questions later' kind of an organization" has to be one of the assiest things I've ever heard. Can he sue me if I say I think he's a twat?

It'll never hold up. In order for a libel case to prevail, the plaintiff must prove that a. the comment was a lie and b. actual harm was done. There's probably a likely a statue of limitations issue if she had time to move out since the comment was made, making it impossible for the landlord to prove there was no mold at the time of the complaint. Also, if she counter sued, her lawyer would have a field day with that "sue first comment." Good luck, Twittergirl.

I rented from Horizon for three years and just recently moved out. I had constant problems with the company fixing things, maintaining things, following up on promises, etc. I hope she beats the lawsuit and warns future tenants in the city of Chicago what a terrible service they provide.

ahahahha. He seems like an uneducated twat! Yes, please sue first and then ask questions later. That seems to be the most logical and easiest way to solve this problem.

To Jeffery Michael- I will never rent from Horizon knowing that they are a "sue first, ask questions later" type of organization. Businesses like Horizon deserve to fail for short cutting everything and making it all about the almighty buck.

I wonder if he's going to sue the 100,000 people that are now causing it to trend on twitter.

Or all the websites and newspapers that will probably pick this up.

Maybe It should've just stayed with being seen by some person's 20 followers.

Then again, if you take a look at the screenshot ( http://mashable.com/2009/07/28/woman-sued-tweet/ ) it makes the woman sound like quite the catch. With an attitude like that, you're almost sort of asking for it.

Clearly, Horizon Realty doesn't quite grasp the reach of the internet. By this time, it's probably hit everyone of his 1500 tenants that the company takes glory in being unreasonable. Next, a cable company will be following him around asking him to sue them. They guy clearly needs a good dose of reality, which he's about to get. If Jeffrey Michael proceeds with this ridiculous lawsuit, I'll contribute to the former tenants defense fund.

What an idiot, if he thinks
“Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it’s okay.”
is more damaging than
"We're a 'sue first, ask questions later' kind of an organization."

lol

I'm with jamiealyse: I'd never do business or sign any kind of lease agreement with someone who admits "sue first"... THAT'S gotta be bad for business...

Can I get sued for saying that? Then, I take it back. Mold is great, too...Penicillin...Roquefort...

I'm sure tequila red and megamibear meant "twit," didn't you? No pun intended.

Hey, thanks for the heads up regarding Horizon. I'll certainly never do business with them, and I'm betting the same goes for a bunch of other potential customers.

the best part, was like she had 20 followers... and since they decided to bring the case (and apparently not tell the tenant till they filed), NOW how many people know about it now!? Sue first is a great company policy - I bet someone will get fired for that one.

Obviously, the Horizon people didn't consider the incredibly bad PR that would result from this suit. If I were a renter from Horizon, I would move out at the first opportunity. I mean, if they'll sue over this, what would they do if I dinged a floor or damaged a window? I don't know anything about them, and if I'd just heard about the Tweet, I would have considered it one person's opinion. But now that I've heard about the lawsuit about the Tweet, I know to never rent from them, and I'll put the news about the lawsuit on my facebook page so all of my Chicago friends know about this.

This story was even on my local news here in Austin!

We have a blogger here in Richmond, VA that is currently going through a similar situation. He started a blog as a way to voice his opinions on the terrible conditions of his apartment building. Many readers felt the same as him and found his blog as a voice for renters in the same situation. From what I understand from the local newstory the landlord found out and began a harrassing campaign against the renter/blogger for what sounds like a good number of months. This included the landlord writing harrassing messages on the backs of his checks when they were cashed and sending bogus notice of eviction letters pertaining to things outside of the rental terms. Tweeting and or blogging in this day and age unfortuantely does heighten the chance of your landlord finding out what you really have to say.

However, I don't agree with the lawsuit and think its a waste. One tenant isn't going to harm a landlord the way this landlord is claiming.