Anonymous Yelp reviews not hearsay.

A Florida Federal District Court judge ruled that reviews posted on Yelp, the social media site that invites people to review local businesses,  potentially illustrated evidence of “customer confusion,” an element of trademark infringement.  An article appearing in Bloomberg Social Media Law and Policy Report highlighted the case, which concerns a challenge by You Fit, Inc. a national gym chain against a defendants who chose to name their Florida gym, Fit U.   You Fit sought to introduce two Yelp postings that explained consumer confusion.  One such posting began “I am soo confused.”  Defendants in the case argued that the reviews were hearsay and therefore inadmissible.  The court, however, disagreed and concluded that the posters’ declarations were admissible since they demonstrated “the then existing mental state of the declarents who posted the comments.”

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