How to Remove Malicious Reviews About Used Car Dealerships Through Provisional Measures

When considering selling your own car or buying a used one, it’s common to choose a dealership based on online reviews.

While it’s very convenient for users to check reviews when choosing a dealership, there may be instances where malicious reviews are posted.

In this article, we will explain how to remove such malicious reviews, specifically for used car dealerships that have been targeted.

For information on how to remove reviews from Google Maps, which is a potential platform for used car dealership reviews, please refer to the following article.

https://monolith.law/reputation/google-map-reputation-delete-way[ja]

Malignant Reviews for Used Car Dealerships

Reviews for used car dealerships can be checked on sites like “Car Sensor”. Evaluations and reviews about customer service and atmosphere are posted, making it easier to get an image of what kind of shop it is.

However, there is a possibility that negative reviews may be posted in cases where the selling price is not agreed upon, or if a customer is dissatisfied with the staff’s service.

If malicious reviews are posted, there is a possibility that the dealership may suffer damages such as a decrease in the number of visitors or transactions. Therefore, it is necessary to remove malicious reviews that are different from the facts by some means.

Request for Removal from Review Sites

If malicious reviews are posted, check the terms of use of the review site and request removal.

According to the terms of use, reviews that constitute defamation or invasion of privacy are often prohibited.

However, even if you request removal, it does not guarantee that the review will be removed. The operator of the review site determines whether the review constitutes defamation or invasion of privacy.

If all negative reviews are removed, the credibility of the review site will be lost. Therefore, if the operator is not convinced, they may not remove the review.

Filing a Provisional Disposition for Deletion in Court

What is a Provisional Disposition for Deletion?

If a review site does not comply with a request to delete a review, consider filing a provisional disposition for deletion. A provisional disposition is a temporary measure decided by the court in cases where leaving the situation as is would continue to cause damage.

While regular lawsuits often require a period of years until a judgment is rendered, in the case of provisional dispositions, results are often obtained within a few months.

Once a review is posted, it continues to be seen by many people, so it is important to delete it as soon as possible to minimize damage. Therefore, it can be said that a provisional disposition application is more suitable than a lawsuit.

Although a provisional disposition is, as the name suggests, a temporary decision and a lawsuit is supposed to be filed after the provisional disposition decision, in reality, if deletion is approved in the provisional disposition, the review is almost always deleted.

How to Apply for a Provisional Disposition for Deletion

Filing a Provisional Disposition

You submit a petition, explanatory documents, and attachments to the court to apply for a provisional disposition for deletion. The petition should describe the content of the rights to be preserved, the facts of the rights infringement, and the necessity of preservation.

Examination

The examination refers to the procedure where the judge and the lawyer discuss, similar to oral arguments in a regular trial.

The interval between examinations is about one week and cannot be unduly delayed. Therefore, you need to prepare any missing documents or written materials in the short period before the next examination.

Payment of Security Deposit

If, after the examination, the review is deemed illegal, a security deposit decision will be issued. At that time, you will be required to deposit a security deposit with the Legal Affairs Bureau.

After the decision of the provisional disposition, if the decision is overturned in the main lawsuit and the review is deemed not illegal, you may have to pay damages for the deletion of the review.

This security deposit will be applied to the damages in such a case. The security deposit can be refunded in cases where the secured creditor’s consent is obtained or is deemed to have been obtained by notice of exercise of rights.

Issuance of Provisional Disposition Order

After the security deposit is deposited, the court will issue a provisional disposition order to delete the review. As mentioned above, in most cases, the review will be deleted once this order is issued.

Execution

If the review is not deleted even after the provisional disposition order is issued, you can file for execution.

However, it can be said that there are not many cases where it is necessary to file for execution.

For more detailed explanation on how to delete defamatory articles through provisional disposition, please refer to the following article.

https://monolith.law/reputation/slander-delete-law[ja]

Requirements for Granting a Provisional Disposition for Deletion

A provisional disposition is a procedure based on the Japanese Civil Preservation Act. According to Article 13 of the Civil Preservation Act,

“A petition for a preservation order must clearly state its purpose, the rights or legal relations to be preserved, and the necessity for preservation.”

This is what is stipulated.

What are the Rights to be Preserved?

The “rights to be preserved” refer to the rights that should be protected. In the case of malicious reviews, the rights to be preserved are often the right to reputation or privacy.

When filing a petition, it is necessary to argue that “the review in question infringes on the ○○ right”. If you are claiming an infringement of the right to reputation, you must argue that the review meets the following requirements for defamation:

• Publicly
• Indicating the facts
• Defaming a person’s reputation

It would be difficult to obtain a deletion order simply by saying “I received a negative review”.

For more details on the requirements for defamation, please refer to the following article.

https://monolith.law/reputation/defamation[ja]

What is the Necessity for Preservation?

The necessity for preservation means that there is a reason why the issue must be resolved by a provisional disposition rather than by a normal court procedure. If a malicious review is posted online, many people may see the review every day, and the damage may increase due to further spread, so it can be said that there is little dispute over the necessity for preservation.

Summary

If malicious reviews are posted about a used car dealership, it is necessary to remove the reviews as soon as possible.

In order to succeed in filing for removal through a provisional disposition, it is crucial to meticulously construct legal arguments and prepare persuasive evidence.

While a provisional disposition is a speedy procedure, it is by no means a simple one.

If you are troubled by malicious reviews written about a used car dealership, it is essential to consult with a lawyer who handles many online defamation cases as soon as possible.

Introduction to Our Firm’s Measures

Monolith Law Office is a legal office with high expertise in both IT, particularly the internet, and law.

In recent years, malicious reviews and defamatory information spread on the internet have been causing serious damage as “digital tattoos”.

Our firm provides solutions for dealing with these “digital tattoos”. Details are provided in the article below.