Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 7, 1991 TAG: 9102070140
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Antenna Communications Specialists, a satellite TV business in Vinton, sought the injunction. The company claimed in a slander lawsuit last week that a personal grudge led Mary Frances Stephanz, director of the Better Business Bureau of Western Virginia Inc., to issue unfavorable reports about the business.
ACS had asked Roanoke Circuit Court Judge Roy Willett to issue an injunction prohibiting the bureau from issuing the reports.
"Ms. Stephanz is a loose cannon, and she can do tremendous damage to someone in business just by her decision and her decision alone," said Burton Albert, a Roanoke lawyer representing ACS.
Bureau attorney Mark Feldmann countered that Stephanz was entitled to give a report that was, in fact, accurate.
Although Willett ruled that a lawsuit against the bureau can proceed, he found no justification to grant an injunction for immediate relief.
"I can't restrict opinion-giving . . . under the law," the judge said.
Albert said after the hearing that he intends to proceed with a lawsuit in which ACS is asking for $1 million in damages.
The suit claims that ACS's reputation was "seriously impaired" by a bureau report. The suit said that after a dispute between owner Matthew Whitcomb and Stephanz the bureau criticized ACS for not responding to customer complaints.
The report was given to consumers who called the bureau for advice, and the bureau contends that it was based on fact.
Feldmann said this is the first time the bureau has been sued in the 21 years Stephanz has worked there. The suit will be "vigorously defended," he said.
"The bureau has been performing a public service for a long time" and should be entitled to make factual reports and issue opinions based on fact, he said. "We think it's an important principle."
by CNB