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Texas Supreme Court: AG's suit against Yelp's 'misleading' PRC labels can proceed
The Texas Supreme Court has refused to dismiss Attorney General Ken Paxton's lawsuit against Yelp, after the company attached labels to pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) which Paxton alleges were misleading.
In 2023, AG Paxton filed a lawsuit against Yelp for misleading consumers about PRCs.
Yelp had attached labels to PRCs which read, “This is a Crisis Pregnancy Center. Crisis Pregnancy Centers typically provide limited medical services and may not have licensed medical professionals onsite.”
Paxton said this label is misleading because it was attached to all PRCs, even those which do employ medical professionals.
Yelp also sued, seeking the dismissal of Paxton's lawsuit.
A county judge tossed Paxton's lawsuit, but an appeals court reinstated it, causing Yelp to turn to the Texas Supreme Court.
The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that Paxton's lawsuit can proceed.
Beginning in 2022, Yelp began placing labels on all PRC listings, which read, “This is a Crisis Pregnancy Center. Crisis Pregnancy Centers typically provide limited medical services and may not have licensed medical professionals onsite.”
Paxton sued, saying Yelp was misleading Texas consumers by placing the label uniformly to all PRCs, even those which did have licensed medical professionals on site. Paxton's lawsuit stated:
Defendant’s misrepresentations and failure to disclose the presence of licensed medical professionals at pregnancy resource centers dissuaded consumers from visiting these clinics in favor of clinics that perform abortion services.
The day before Paxton's suit was filed, Yelp filed a suit of its own in an effort to stop Paxton's from moving forward, though this attempt was unsuccessful.
U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson wrote that her ruling did not mean she supported Paxton, however:
To be clear, the court is not convinced that Paxton acted entirely in good faith in bringing this case against Yelp; still, Yelp has not provided enough concrete evidence of his subjective motivations to prove otherwise.
In the meantime, Yelp changed its PRC label to read, “Crisis Pregnancy Centers do not offer abortions or referrals to abortion providers.”
Paxton's suit was thrown out by a Bastrop County judge, but Paxton appealed, and the 15th District Court reinstated the lawsuit.
Yelp turned to the Texas Supreme Court in an effort to have Paxton's suit dismissed again, but the Supreme Court refused. In a new ruling, the justices said the lawsuit can proceed.
Previously, Yelp had claimed the lawsuit did not have standing in Texas, as the PRC labels were in place across the country, and not specifically targeting Texas PRCs. Yet the appeals court pointed out that Yelp does "substantial business" in Texas, and sends residents of Texas targeted ads.
Paxton said in his response:
There is nothing novel in holding that if a company publishes deceptive content online about Texas businesses, in violation of Texas law, and that content is viewed by Texas consumers, then it is reasonable for that company to expect to be susceptible to suit in Texas regarding those very publications.
The Texas Supreme Court did not give any reasoning in its ruling allowing the lawsuit to proceed, and a Yelp spokesperson voiced disagreement with the decision.
"Yelp’s consumer notice at issue was truthful, accurate, and intended to help people make informed decisions about reproductive healthcare options," the spokesperson said.
Paxton has not yet responded.
The legal battle over the Yelp labels will continue for now, despite Yelp's efforts to have it squashed.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
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·Texas Supreme Court: AG's suit against Yelp's 'misleading' PRC labels can proceed
The Texas Supreme Court has refused to dismiss Attorney General Ken Paxton's lawsuit against Yelp, after the company attached labels to pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) which Paxton alleges were misleading.
In 2023, AG Paxton filed a lawsuit against Yelp for misleading consumers about PRCs.
Yelp had attached labels to PRCs which read, “This is a Crisis Pregnancy Center. Crisis Pregnancy Centers typically provide limited medical services and may not have licensed medical professionals onsite.”
Paxton said this label is misleading because it was attached to all PRCs, even those which do employ medical professionals.
Yelp also sued, seeking the dismissal of Paxton's lawsuit.
A county judge tossed Paxton's lawsuit, but an appeals court reinstated it, causing Yelp to turn to the Texas Supreme Court.
The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that Paxton's lawsuit can proceed.
Beginning in 2022, Yelp began placing labels on all PRC listings, which read, “This is a Crisis Pregnancy Center. Crisis Pregnancy Centers typically provide limited medical services and may not have licensed medical professionals onsite.”
Paxton sued, saying Yelp was misleading Texas consumers by placing the label uniformly to all PRCs, even those which did have licensed medical professionals on site. Paxton's lawsuit stated:
Defendant’s misrepresentations and failure to disclose the presence of licensed medical professionals at pregnancy resource centers dissuaded consumers from visiting these clinics in favor of clinics that perform abortion services.
The day before Paxton's suit was filed, Yelp filed a suit of its own in an effort to stop Paxton's from moving forward, though this attempt was unsuccessful.
U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson wrote that her ruling did not mean she supported Paxton, however:
To be clear, the court is not convinced that Paxton acted entirely in good faith in bringing this case against Yelp; still, Yelp has not provided enough concrete evidence of his subjective motivations to prove otherwise.
In the meantime, Yelp changed its PRC label to read, “Crisis Pregnancy Centers do not offer abortions or referrals to abortion providers.”
Paxton's suit was thrown out by a Bastrop County judge, but Paxton appealed, and the 15th District Court reinstated the lawsuit.
Yelp turned to the Texas Supreme Court in an effort to have Paxton's suit dismissed again, but the Supreme Court refused. In a new ruling, the justices said the lawsuit can proceed.
Previously, Yelp had claimed the lawsuit did not have standing in Texas, as the PRC labels were in place across the country, and not specifically targeting Texas PRCs. Yet the appeals court pointed out that Yelp does "substantial business" in Texas, and sends residents of Texas targeted ads.
Paxton said in his response:
There is nothing novel in holding that if a company publishes deceptive content online about Texas businesses, in violation of Texas law, and that content is viewed by Texas consumers, then it is reasonable for that company to expect to be susceptible to suit in Texas regarding those very publications.
The Texas Supreme Court did not give any reasoning in its ruling allowing the lawsuit to proceed, and a Yelp spokesperson voiced disagreement with the decision.
"Yelp’s consumer notice at issue was truthful, accurate, and intended to help people make informed decisions about reproductive healthcare options," the spokesperson said.
Paxton has not yet responded.
The legal battle over the Yelp labels will continue for now, despite Yelp's efforts to have it squashed.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
Bridget Sielicki
·Issues
Sheena Rodriguez
·Politics
Bernadette Pate
·Human Interest
Nancy Flanders
·Analysis
Cassy Cooke
·Issues
Nancy Flanders
·Analysis
Cassy Cooke
·International
Cassy Cooke
·Analysis
Cassy Cooke
·Pop Culture
Cassy Cooke
·Analysis
Cassy Cooke
·