Can You Follow This? Suing A Tenant Over A Tweet

Chances are pretty good that even if you don't live in Chicago you've heard of Horizon Group Management, the landlord that is suing a tenant for $50,000 because she Tweeted about her "moldy" apartment.

While Horizon is going after Twitter user Amanda Bonnen for her Tweet, Twitter is going after Horizon, illustrating just how powerful social media can be. It likely doesn't help matters that Horizon Group Management's Jeffrey Michael told the Chicago Sun-Times that his company is a "sue-first, ask-questions-later kind of an organization."

That sort of disregard for a tenant is exactly the kind of fodder that would drive Twitter wild. And, sure enough, when the story broke yesterday, Google News and Techmeme both picked it up and a topic about it trended on Twitter.

It's possible that Horizon Group Management had never thought about implementing a social media strategy, but social media is certainly skewering the company now.

The Chicago-based real estate firm claims in its lawsuit that Bonnen harmed its reputation by sending the Tweet out to her 20 or so followers.

Bonnen's Twitter account has been shut down but, according to Horizon, the Tweet that spurred the lawsuit read, "Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it's okay."

In the suit, Horizon claims that Bonnen's Tweet "contained false and defamatory matter" concerning the management company. Further, the company claims, Bonnen's decision to make public the "defamatory Tweet" allowed the false information to be distributed around the world and Horizon has been "greatly injured in its reputation as a landlord in Chicago."

Actually, as other Twitter users have been quick to point out, Horizon is likely doing enough harm to its reputation by telling local newspapers that it sues first and asks questions later.