Withdrawal of negative eBay review

Every eBay user is pleased with positive and annoyed with negative reviews. The Higher Regional Court (OLG) Munich has now ordered an eBay buyer to withdraw his negative review of a seller.

A buyer had ordered boat accessories in the eBay shop of a Bavarian merchant and complained about defects in the online review. However, according to the court, he had not previously complained to the seller or returned the goods.

The seller wanted to force the customer by court order to delete the negative review on eBay. The buyer invoked his freedom of opinion and argued that he had merely presented his opinion factually.

The Regional Court (LG) Munich dismissed the action at first instance on the grounds that the seller had failed to prove that the review was "factually incorrect".

Court decision

The Higher Regional Court (OLG) Munich decided by judgment dated 28.10.2014 that the buyer must withdraw his negative review and consent to the deletion of the review.

However, a detailed reasoning for the decision is not yet available. This is to be awaited. In any case, the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Munich did not allow an appeal against the judgment.

Conclusion

This judgment strengthened the rights of eBay sellers. Similar lawsuits had previously mostly failed. However, whether other courts will also adopt the view of the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Munich remains to be seen.