Quebec City hotel drops lawsuit over TripAdvisor bedbug review

A Quebec City hotel has agreed to drop its lawsuit against a former client who claimed itwas infested with bedbugs in a TripAdvisor review.

But as part of anout-of-court settlement,L'HtelQubec will acknowledge that it diddiscoverone bedbug, three years ago.

The hotel launched a $95,000 lawsuit in 2013 againstLaurent Azoulay for damages and loss of revenue.

Following a two-night stay at the hotelAzoulay,had writtenon the TripAdvisor websitethat"At first this hotel looks okay...until you wake at 3 a.m.because you've been scratching all over and realize your bed is infested with BED BUGS!"

Azoulaycounter-sued the hotel, which is part of the Htels Jaro chain, for $40,000, claiming abuse of process.

In the settlement, both parties agreed to drop their lawsuits. Azoulayalsoagreed to write a letter, approved by the hotel,which will be posted on the TripAdvisor website.

"A single bedbug was found," reads a copy of the letter obtained by Radio-Canada. "There was no general infestationatL'HtelQubec."

The initial lawsuit attracted the attention of several legal observers when it was first launched, who saw itas a test of free speech online.

It was ultimately the tone of Azoulay's comments that exposed him to the lawsuit, saidDaniel Gardner, a law professor at UniversitLaval.

"When making a negative comment, it's important to stick to the facts and what we can ascertain," he said.