Blogging real estate agent sued for $25 million

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Good morning. This one is worth noting: ‘Developer Tibor Hollo has filed a $25 million defamation lawsuit against a Miami real estate agent who blogged that the octogenarian went bankrupt in the 1980s and is headed for a fall with the upheaval in the condo market.’

More, from the Miami Herald: ‘Hollo last week sued agent Lucas Lechuga and the Coral Gables brokerage Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell alleging they have engaged in a smear campaign against him and his Opera Tower condo development on Lechuga’s Miami Condo Investments blog.’

The blogger, Lucas Lechuga, was terminated by the brokerage, but is still blogging: ‘The reason why I wrote the post is because I was receiving a lot of phone calls from contract holders of the development telling me that they had no intention on closing on their condos. In my opinion, a blog is a vehicle to share opinions, thoughts and concerns. I was merely sharing these concerns with potential buyers and contract holders. About three weeks ago, a local newspaper disclosed a story about a class-action lawsuit against the developer filed by contract holders wanting to get out. This topic was an area of concern, and one that I felt needed to be addressed to my readers.’

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com
Hat tips: Tony Pierce (the LATimes.com’s boss of blogs), Take Five via e-mail