Can posting your opinion online cost you in real life?

A man in Florida has spent $7,000 for his defense against a $15,000 defamation lawsuit brought by a man who sold him a reportedly defective time clock. The clock was purchased for $44 in 2008, and it apparently arrived in three pieces that didn't fit together or even seem to be the same model. He received a refund through PayPal's buyer protection plan and sent the merchandise back, but wanted other potential buyers to beware.

So on the profile of the man he purchased the clock from, he wrote: "Bad seller; he has the ethics of a used car salesman.''  It turned out that the seller was a Miami Beach lawyer, and he wanted damages for ruining his 100 percent customer approval rating and "commercial reputation."

The buyer reported that he had joined eBay about six months earlier hoping to find bargains for his new welding shop. He thought he lucked out on the time clock, which he said was advertised as tested and proven to work.  He ran out of money after spending thousands of dollars in defense of his lawsuit and faces even more expenses related to what he thought was a harmless post on the Internet.

What this teaches us is that when writing and sending scathing tweets or other text messages to any of your personal or business contacts, you could be opening yourself up to charges of libel or slander.

LIBEL is a printed statement – written or pictorial – that defames a person’s character
or reputation and hinders the individual’s ability to perform an occupation or holds
the person up to public ridicule. SLANDER is the spoken version of defamation. Here’s the kicker: negligence is enough to make a libel claim stick.

Malice only has to be proven in the cases of public figures. That means people who
don’t give a second thought to sending a message criticizing their hairdresser or
financial adviser could wind up in court or arbitration defending or settling a libel suit.
However, people who proceed with libel claims must prove that the defendant’s
statements contain false factual assertions. Opinions, which must be clearly understood as such, cannot be defamatory despite how much criticism they levy.

One way to protect yourself is to purchase endorsements for additional personal injury coverage under your homeowners policy that encompasses libel and slander. In addition, personal injury endorsements apply to false arrest, detention, imprisonment, malicious prosecution; invasion of privacy and wrongful eviction or entry.

Under such endorsements, companies pay damages for which the insurer becomes
legally liable. Companies do not always pay for punitive damages, however,

because they are not insurable in certain jurisdictions. In most cases, defense costs

are not covered by the insurer, which selects the defense attorney.

It’s a brave new world, so be careful what you write online.

Never Drive in the Rain with Your Cruise Control On 

You may not have been aware of this very important fact, but you should avoid using cruise control while driving in the rain. If the cruise control is on when your car begins to hydro-plane and your tires lose contact with the pavement, your car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed making you take off like an airplane.

Cruise control is often utilized to maintain gas efficiency and regulate speed, but someone who relies on cruise control too much may find themselves neglecting to pay full attention to driving. This is especially true when driving in the rain.

Rain presents two distinct dangers for drivers. After a dry spell, accumulated oil, grease, and dirt on the road can create extremely slippery conditions. The roads are most dangerous just after it starts to rain when water is standing on the road. The oil and grease rise up in a layer on top of the water creating conditions similar to ice on the road. After a period of heavy rain, the oil and grease will wash off the road and the slippery conditions diminish.

Heavy rain however creates a separate and equally dangerous situation. When water stands on the road, it can become deep enough that the tires can’t squeeze the water through the tread fast enough. When this happens, the tires can actually rise up on top of the water and ride across the water, resulting in "hydroplaning." Hydroplaning can start at speeds as low as 35 mph, and it becomes especially dangerous at speeds above 55 mph. Remember that the higher your speed, the greater your chance of hydroplaning.

The best advice we can always give is to make sure you devote 100% of your attention while driving.

If you work from home, make sure you have coverage

Working fromm home certainly has its benefits. You can work in your flip-flops and shorts and don't have to worry about a tenuous commute.

However, according to a study commissioned by the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, sixty percent of home business owners do not have the proper insurance coverage, which is especially important since the number of self-employed people is at an all time high. There is a common misperception that people who operate businesses from home think they are protected under other policies. In fact, according to the same survey, forty percent also believed they were covered by another insurance, and thirty percent thought they were too small.

Although some homeowners insurance provides up to $2500 for damaged or stolen equipment, standard policies do not provide business liability or business income insurance.  There are several choices for the self-employed to protect their business, no matter the size:

Homeowners Policy Endorsement – you can add up to $10,000 in endorsements for home business equipment. There is also a homeowners liability endorsement available to businesses who have only a few business-related visitors.

In-House Business Policy – This is a more comprehensive policy and provides coverage for business equipment. Depending on the size and type of business, these policies are modestly priced. Coverage also can be attained for the protection of important documents, and can include both business interruption and business liability.

Businessowners Policy (BOP) – Providing a broader scale of coverage than an in-house business policy, businesses qualify for a BOP depending on property size, liability required, and business type.

Your agent at Deland, Gibson will work with you to review your homeowners policy and advise you on the best policy to protect your home business.