Avvo Beats Attorney’s Suit Over Rating, Virginia Bar Status (1)

An attorney lost his bid to pursue defamation claims against online directory Avvo Inc. over a low rating or an inaccuracy that indicated his Virginia bar status was “not active but disabled,” according to a Washington federal court ruling Thursday.

Precedent established that Avvo ratings “are absolutely protected by the First Amendment,” so Andrew U.D. Straw can’t challenge his 3.1 out of 10 rating, the court said Wednesday.

The lawyer ratings are subjective, abstract, and not fairly read to assert fact, the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Washington said. Because they aren’t capable of being proved false, ...