Claims Negative Review Is “Defamatory.”
Customer’s Wife Allegedly Dying From Brain Cancer. Van Kirk Allegedly Said They’d Fix Problems… Customer Says Company Didn’t…
BY: STAFF REPORT | BocaNewsNow.com
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2022 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — Van Kirk and Sons Pools is suing a Boyton Beach man after he posted negative comments about his experience with Van Kirk on Facebook.
In the lawsuit just filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, Van Kirk alleges that comments posted by Stuart Cohen of Alpine Ridge Road in Boynton Beach are defamatory. Cohen was apparently upset when his $125,000 pool installation job didn’t go as planned. Even worse, according to Cohen’s posts, his wife was suffering from brain cancer, they had to leave the area for medical care, and Van Kirk’s pool installers claimed they’d have everything fixed by the time the Cohens returned.
Mr. Cohen posted that the project was still a problem upon his return. This is what Cohen published to Facebook:
Van Kirk and Sons, however, took issue with the Facebook post. Without offering proof that the alleged defamatory comments were, in fact, incorrect, Van Kirk threatened Cohen with legal action. Van Kirk’s attorney then filed suit against Cohen after he wrote about the threat.
Read the complete lawsuit, below. The current status of Mr. Cohen’s pool is unclear.
Van Kirk and Sons Pools rarely files suit against customers, according to Palm Beach County records. The company, however, did file a libel and slander suit against a Palm Beach County customer in 2021. That suit was dismissed following an undisclosed settlement.
Van Kirk and Sons is represented by Attorney Jason Katz in Plantation.
