SunTrust dispute aired on Twitter

Companies have become adept at using blogs, Facebook and Twitter for image-building. The Brooks-SunTrust dispute shows it can cut both ways when aggrieved customers use social media to try to get even.

For several months, Brooks has chronicled what she calls her “David vs. Goliath” battle with Atlanta-based SunTrust over an unfinished dream home. She and her husband, Edward, filed a racketeering complaint in May against the bank in U.S. District Court in Orlando regarding their Lake Mary, Fla., property, now in foreclosure.

“They can fight me for years and years, knowing that every day that goes by . . . puts my family in more financial danger and puts my family in more emotional danger,” Brooks, a stay-at-home mother of two, said in a recent interview.

“I was reaching out for help and now I’m just trying to fight the good fight. This is my only voice.”

While no firm numbers exist on lawsuit related blogs, several complaint sites already exist where consumers air their grievances and gripe about their experiences with a particular business.

Though blogs can gain attention and encouragement for someone’s cause, they’re unlikely to help in a lawsuit, said Matt Maguire, a partner at Balch & Bingham’s Atlanta office.

“Unlike elected and public officials, I seriously doubt that bank decision-makers would be motivated by what they might see in the blogosphere.”

He said SunTrust’s attorneys likely monitor Brooks’ postings, “but probably only from the standpoint of obtaining admissions or other information helpful to SunTrust’s defense,” Maguire said.

“While there may be some juror sympathy for the underdog in a meritorious case, the blogging could backfire if the jury perceives it as a means of obtaining leverage over SunTrust in a case that ultimately lacks merit,” he added.

Many companies have their own social media pages to address customer issues. SunTrust, for example, has an AskSunTrust page on Twitter for customer account issues. Its various Twitter pages have a combined 1,800 followers.

Companies generally don’t respond in kind to a blog assault, and that’s the case with SunTrust, which is seeking to have the Brooks’ federal lawsuit dismissed.

“As a matter of long-standing policy we don’t publicly discuss client relationships -- even those who choose to share their side of the story in the public domain,” SunTrust spokesman Mike McCoy said. “After unsuccessfully trying to resolve the issue working directly with the client . . .we will continue to address it in the appropriate legal forum. That said, we are aware of this situation and have been -- and will continue to -- work directly with our client on this issue.”

Companies are paying close attention to what’s being said about them in cyberspace and sometimes seek legal advice about it, said attorney Michael C. Lasky, an expert on public relations law.

“We are very much aware of a sharp increase in the number of times clients have called about issues arising because of something said or done in new or social media,” said Lasky, of Davis & Gilbert in New York.

One New Jersey law firm, Levinson Axelrod, sued an ex-associate, Edward Harrington Heyburn, who continually ripped his former employer in a blog called levinsonaxelrodreallysucks.com. The case was dismissed in June after both sides reached a confidential settlement.

Some attorneys say using social media in a dispute can be a good thing.

“People always had the right to discuss litigation; social media just makes it more accessible,” said Steven Rosenwasser, an attorney with Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore in Atlanta. A dispute blog might bring other people forward if they have similar experiences, he said.

But blogs are almost certain to be monitored by the other side for potential use in court.

“Assume that everything they say they will be cross-examined . . . and you need to make sure that you’re not using documents or information outside the permitted court rules,” Rosenwasser said.

Some experts think the use of social media to explain a lawsuit will grow, and in some cases as part of the overall legal strategy.

“It doesn’t mean that you’re going to have your client go talking unilaterally,” said Kevin O’Keefe, founder of LexBlog, a Seattle company that tracks social media trends in the the legal industry and advises law firms. “But used strategically, why wouldn’t I, as a plaintiff’s lawyer, use social media? It’s very viral in nature.”

One example, he said, is a blog by food safety attorney Bill Marler. The blog is a must-read for food company executives, attorneys and regulators, O’Keefe said, because Marler discusses cases he’s working on and industry issues.

Brooks started her blog, momvssuntrust.blogspot.com, separately from the lawsuit. In it she relates the couple’s plan to build their dream home in Lake Mary, only to be embroiled in a five-year battle with the bank over the way it paid out the loan to the builder. The money is gone, and the house is only 65 percent complete and falling into disrepair.

Brooks said she’s careful about what she tweets, adding some of her followers include executives from other banks who have given her guidance on her situation.

“If I have a piece of paper in front of me that shows that this occurred, then it’s not libel,” Brooks said. “I don’t say anything that’s not a truth.”

Her dig about SunTrust and TARP, for instance, refers to the $4.5 billion in federal Troubled Asset Relief Program money the bank received. The bank has said it will repay the money but hasn’t said when.

Brooks said she’s heard from borrowers whoface similar situations, know others who are or just want to voice support.

“I was despondent. I was reaching out for help from others and I’m trying to help other people as well,” Brooks said. “We spent over $1.6 million and there’s animals running through the house; there’s raccoons pooping on the stairs.”