The owner of the Solicitors from Hell website, which was set up to name and shame solicitors who have allegedly given bad advice to customers, is facing a class action defamation lawsuit from more than 100,000 lawyers.
Rick Kordowski, a self-employed graphic designer, has been successfully sued for libel as many as 16 times in the past due to the claims on his website. Although he has been declared bankrupt, he is said to owe more than £150,000 in fines as a result of these lawsuits.
Mr Kordowski has now been ordered to close his website down, or else he will face numerous charges of harassment, defamation and breaches of the Data Protection Act in the High Court. More than 100,000 lawyers, all of whom are likely to have their own professional indemnity insurance in place to cover allegations of negligence and bad practice, are pursuing this action against Mr Kordowski.
In response to the threat of legal action, Mr Kordowski has said:
“There’s a need for my website, as many people have said, and it makes them feel better for being able to post on it.”
He is also reportedly threatening to sue the chief executive of the Law Society, Des Hudson, for defamation.