Canton woman wins Web free speech case | Detroit Free Press

Canton woman wins Web free speech case
She used a nursery's name for site warning potential customers

March 6, 2004

BY JEFF BENNETT
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Anyone who has thought about developing a Web site to gripe about a company owes Michelle Grosse some thanks.

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled Friday that the Canton woman did not violate the law when she used the name of Lucas Nursery and Landscaping Inc. for a Web site she created to complain about the Canton nursery.

Paul Levy, staff attorney with the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, said the ruling bolsters the fight by consumer groups to stop corporations from snuffing out free speech on the Internet.

"This is a very important case," said Levy. "This is a mainstream circuit court that said using the Internet and the name of the company to criticize a company is perfectly legitimate."

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Score one for the people.