Case Overview:
In Pacific Granite Manufacturing Ltd. v. Hyungdong Lee, Pacific Granite Manufacturing Ltd., Nader Tabrizi, and Alireza Beittoei sued Hyungdong Lee for defamation after he posted negative Google reviews about their business. The dispute arose from a car accident involving one of Pacific Granite’s employees.

Legal Issues:
The plaintiffs argued that Mr. Lee's reviews falsely accused them of dishonesty, harming their personal and business reputations. The court needed to determine whether the reviews were defamatory, whether they referred to the plaintiffs, and whether they were published to a third party.

Key Legal Findings:
The court found that one of Mr. Lee's reviews was defamatory, as it implied the plaintiffs lied about the car accident. Under defamation law, the court found that the reviews met the necessary criteria to lower the plaintiffs’ reputations in the eyes of a reasonable person. However, the court dismissed the plaintiffs' claims for aggravated and punitive damages, as well as their request for an injunction to prevent further defamatory statements.

Damages and Costs:
The court awarded general damages as follows:

• $2,000 to Nader Tabrizi,
• $1,000 to Alireza Beittoei,
• $1,000 to Pacific Granite Manufacturing Ltd.

Total Award:
The total damages awarded to the plaintiffs amounted to $4,000. The court did not award aggravated or punitive damages.