A Wisconsin couple was sued by their landlord after leaving two negative reviews online over alleged undisclosed extra fees, according to a report.
Eric Magnuson and Elizabeth Sargent reportedly rented the property in Whitefish Bay from David Karademas in August 2023, but they began receiving notices about charges they claim had not been made clear in the lease.
Karademas emailed his tenants in November 2024, announcing a new 9 a.m. deadline for renters to move their vehicles in snow, according to court records obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The move prompted Magnuson to write a review under a pseudonym in which he claimed he had been fined $100 for not moving his car on time despite snow still falling.
“Do NOT rent from these people,” Magnuson wrote of Karademas Management. “They are sleazy, greedy and truly awful people.”
The couple told the Journal Sentinel that Karademas had then replied publicly to the review, revealing their real names and address.
“Your complaint seems to revolve around the fact that Bay Village has rules and that the rules are enforced,” Karademas wrote, according to the Journal. “I stand guilty as charged.”
Magnuson then posted a second review calling out the “public doxxing” and acknowledged he and other residents were 45 minutes late moving thier cars.
“These fines are absolutely illegal – or shady at the very least,” Magnuson wrote online.
In response, Karademas then emailed Magnuson and demanded that the review be taken down and that the couple sign a non-disparagement agreement, banning them from further criticism.
Karademas, who is also a lawyer, owns multiple properties in Wisconsin and Illinois. “As the proprietor of a family-owned business, that reputation is all that stands between me and oblivion,” he told the Journal Sentinel.
The Independent has attempted to contact Karademas Management for further comment.
According to the Journal Sentinel, in his lawsuit, Karademas claims that Magnuson lied in his first review and that both were posted so that the couple could get out of their lease early, which he describes as “extortion.”
“Both falsehoods and extortion can nullify the First Amendment protections that generally shield negative feedback,” he told the outlet.
Magnuson and Sargent have filed a motion to have the case dismissed, though a judge has yet to rule on it.
In addition, Wisconsin is one of only 11 states that do not have anti-SLAPP – Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation – laws, which are designed to prevent lawsuits that attempt to bully people into not speaking out.
“You shouldn’t be able to sue someone to give up their free speech rights,” Sargent told the Journal Sentinel.
