If I Get Bad Legal Advice On Answers, Can I Sue The Yahoo And The Poster For Legal Malpractice?

October 28, 2009 by Da Boss
Filed under: General 

If my case is messed up because somebody claiming to be an attorney (who probably isn’t) told me to do something, shouldn’t Yahoo be liable if it inviting people to practice law without a license by not requiring verification of credentials prior to posting in this forum?

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Comments

14 Comments on If I Get Bad Legal Advice On Answers, Can I Sue The Yahoo And The Poster For Legal Malpractice?

  1. jdw on Wed, 28th Oct 2009 4:01 pm

    2. Don’t take medical advice off of here either, I am warning you ahead of time.

  2. pure_gen… on Wed, 28th Oct 2009 8:58 pm

    3. Think about it. If you go in front of a judge who is in a bad mood because stupid people are in front of him whining all day and then you come up….what are you going to explain to him? I got advice from a yahoo answerer and now im going to sue him and yahoo for bad advice? If you ask the questions, take all answers with a grain of salt. You should never take legal advice from anybody unless you are sitting across from them in a law office where their credentials can be seen. You can’t take people to court for YOUR stupidity.

  3. kiss_me_ on Wed, 28th Oct 2009 11:54 pm

    4. If your dumb enough to get your legal information from this forum you get what you deserve. Sue and lose.

  4. bumpocoo on Thu, 29th Oct 2009 4:51 am

    5. Is it reasonable for a person to take legal advice from an anonymous poster on this site is the question?
    May have a claim for practicing law without a license on the poster themselves under certain fact patterns

  5. goz1111 on Thu, 29th Oct 2009 9:55 am

    6. no you can’t sue because yahoo has nothing to do with what people say or thier opinions. if you lissen to advise from some guy you meet on the street can you sue him? no because he is nobody, you are the only who did it, so you have to face the consequnses

  6. dutch on Thu, 29th Oct 2009 11:23 am

    7. Read the disclaimer:
    “Yahoo! Answers is provided for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for professional legal advice. Always seek the advice of a qualified attorney licensed in the appropriate jurisdiction before taking any course of action that may affect your legal rights.”

  7. Your Way To Success on Thu, 29th Oct 2009 11:56 am

    8. I don’t think so. You should never, ever take advice from any sites like these, or over the Internet. If you really want legal advice, go find a reputable lawyer.

  8. dlk on Thu, 29th Oct 2009 1:32 pm

    9. No, for 2 reasons.
    1. You didn’t pay for the advice, therefore no contract was formed.
    2. Yahoo doesn’t give you advice, they just provide the forum.
    The internet is great for preliminary research to find out if you have a case or not, but don’t make any important decisions based on what people tell you here unless you’re willing to take the risk.

  9. gomanyes on Thu, 29th Oct 2009 1:37 pm

    10. what did you pay for the advice?
    You are not getting legal advice here. YOu are getting suggestions about a way to handle a situation.
    If you want to consult with a lawyer, get your checkbook and feel free.

  10. wizjp on Thu, 29th Oct 2009 4:15 pm

    11. No, they’re not asking people to practice law, they’re just allowing people to give suggetions to you. It’s not written in stone that you have to follow that advice and you have not paid for any services from the people who answer your questions. If your case got messed up it’s because you didn’t do enough homework to research all of your options, or else you had a crummy lawyer in the first place (if you had one). If you didn’t, the next time you’ll know enough that whenever you go into court you alwyas need a lawyer to represent you.

  11. womponoa on Thu, 29th Oct 2009 10:39 pm

    12. lol no!

  12. Andrea Stewart on Thu, 29th Oct 2009 11:53 pm

    13. No one is really practicing law here! You could have actually gotten your advice from a 15 year old jokester! Good grief, hire yourself a lawyer. At least, get out of Q&A, and go to the library, and learn something.

  13. Stubs_Mc on Fri, 30th Oct 2009 4:08 am

    14. Oh, no. I see where this question is going. You’re not going to trick me.

  14. Darth Scorn on Fri, 30th Oct 2009 6:28 am

    15. You can not sue and Yahoo can not be held liable — it was your choice to use unfounded information.
    Kind of interesting that you are a “top contributor” in this catagory but you would use information from here to form a legal case ?

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