--- title: Petsitter Sues Couple for $6,766 Over Negative Yelp Review description: When a couple wasn't satisfied with the care their three pets received while they were on vacation, they wrote a negative review on Yelp. canonical: https://time.com/4231504/petsitter-sues-couple-negative-yelp-review/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-20T18:06:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:30:19.900Z og:title: Petsitter Suing Couple for $6,766 After Negative Yelp Review og:description: "I was beyond shocked and a bit scared" og:url: https://time.com/4231504/petsitter-sues-couple-negative-yelp-review/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21daa3bed4bdba59/69887e5fa988ca651e6b6a9e/yelp-review.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Yelp Inc. Illustrations Ahead Of 4th Quarter Earnings Report og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Petsitter Suing Couple for $6,766 After Negative Yelp Review twitter:description: "I was beyond shocked and a bit scared" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21daa3bed4bdba59/69887e5fa988ca651e6b6a9e/yelp-review.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Petsitter Suing Couple for Over $6,700 After Negative Yelp Review > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. 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Chris Goodney/Bloomberg via Getty Images  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Feb 20, 2016 6:06 PM UTC When Robert and Michelle Duchouquette of Plano, TX, weren’t satisfied with the care their [three pets](http://time.com/money/4109464/pet-costs/) received while they were away on vacation, they wrote a [negative review on Yelp](http://www.yelp.com/biz/prestigious-pets-dallas?hrid=pEoiqQas4g4axoS1DSZVjA&utm%5Fcampaign=www%5Freview%5Fshare%5Fpopup&utm%5Fmedium=copy%5Flink&utm%5Fsource=%28direct%29) for Prestigious Pets, the company that had looked after the animals. The one-star [review](http://time.com/money/4052772/yelp-strange-reviews/) explained that — among other complaints — the camera attached to their fish bowl had shown that the petsitter had overfed their fish, causing the water to turn cloudy. “I think my review was fair. I went point-by-point on the things about the policies of the company I didn’t like,” Michelle told [CBS DFW](http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2016/02/17/yelp-review-lands-couple-in-court/). Prestigious Pets replied with a ostensibly-cordial response on [Yelp](http://time.com/money/4091521/yelp-revenue-40-percent-increase/), but sent the Duchouquettes a cease-and-desist letter shortly afterwards. “I was beyond shocked and a bit scared,” Michelle said. **Read More:** [Yelp Wants You to Review the Government](http://time.com/4002064/yelp-review-federal-agencies/) When the review was still not removed, the company sued for $6,766, claiming the couple had violated a “non-disparagement” clause in their contract. Nicole Williams, an anti-trust and trade regulation attorney at Thompson & Knight, said that similar lawsuits have been unsuccessful for breaching first amendment rights. “There are a lot of challenges that can be made to that clause that they are against public policy, that they infringe first amendment speech,” she said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4231504/petsitter-sues-couple-negative-yelp-review/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4231504/petsitter-sues-couple-negative-yelp-review/"},"headline":"Petsitter Suing Couple for Over $6,700 After Negative Yelp Review","datePublished":"2016-02-20T18:06:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:30:19.900Z","description":"\"I was beyond shocked and a bit scared\"","url":"https://time.com/4231504/petsitter-sues-couple-negative-yelp-review/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Pets","Business topic","Yelp","lawsuits"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21daa3bed4bdba59/69887e5fa988ca651e6b6a9e/yelp-review.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21daa3bed4bdba59/69887e5fa988ca651e6b6a9e/yelp-review.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Yelp Inc. 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