City dentist files another lawsuit over negative internet reviews

A Winnipeg dental clinic is again suing a former patient who posted negative reviews on the internet it claims are defamatory.

The new civil claim, filed last week in Court of King’s Bench by Dr. Dheeraj Mittal of Greenwoods Dental Centre against a patient, is at least the third defamation lawsuit he has launched over negative and allegedly false online reviews since 2021.

The court papers claim the former patient, a Winnipeg man, posted statements it alleges are defamatory on Google, Facebook and Yelp over several days in early July.

The patient, in multiple online reviews, claimed to have had a “terrible experience” at a tooth-extraction appointment at one of Greenwoods’ clinics in Winnipeg in June.

In his first review, the patient claimed a dentist at the clinic wasn’t equipped to give oral sedation during his tooth extraction, despite booking an appointment for such a treatment.

He also said the clinic communicated poorly and lied about attempts to contact him, which the dental centre denies.

“Numb out your mouth with some Anbesol (an over-the-counter anesthetic), go find a homeless individual in a back alley, give them $50 and tell them which teeth you need out. It will hurt less in the long run!” said the man’s first review, according to the court claim.

The patient went on to post several more reviews after a phone call with a manager, the court papers claim.

The clinic alleges the claims he made in his reviews are categorically false.

“The plaintiff states that the aforesaid statements… were designed to try to recoup fees paid for dental services provided to the defendant, to impugn the integrity of the plaintiff, to bring the plaintiff’s reputation into disregard and to injure the plaintiff’s profitability,” reads the court filing.

It claims he was told while scheduling his appointment that there was no guarantee oral sedation would be available at the time of his appointment.

The clinic alleges the man demanded his services be provided only at the centre’s downtown clinic — Greenwoods has five clinics in Winnipeg and two in British Columbia — and only at a specific date and time.

The lawsuit claims Greenwoods management offered the man an apology and a chance to discuss the issue with the dentist who removed his tooth, but he refused and demanded a refund.

Reviews left on Google were taken down early in July, but others remained online, the court papers say.

The dental centre then sent him a cease-and-desist letter later in July demanding the reviews be removed, the court filing says.

The dental centre’s lawyer, Nolan Boucher, would not comment directly on the new lawsuit or the other defamation litigation.

But speaking generally, he said the clinic takes no issue with negative reviews, unless the online comments contain false claims.

“We have no concerns about bad reviews… it lets us know exactly where we might have issues with our services or communication,” said Boucher.

“But at the end of the day, if people are stating inaccurate, false or defamatory information, that’s just simply against the law and can really hurt a business’s reputation.”

The lawsuit is seeking injunctions from the court ordering the patient to delete the comments and refrain from posting any more in the future, as well as damages.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca