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Vent on Facebook about mold and cockroaches. Share the post on Craigslist. Then get sued for it?

That’s what happened to Dylan Hunt. The 25-year-old student at Kapiolani Community College blogged on in July about cockroaches, mold, deceptive billing and other problems he said he’d seen at the student housing complex where he lived.

A few weeks later, the company that manages the apartments sued Hunt for defamation. Hawaii Student Housing said Hunt’s words falsely damaged its reputation and business prospects.

“It’s amazing that all this can happen,” Hunt said. “That someone would go so far to sue a student, when a lawsuit would arguably hurt their reputation more.”

Lawsuits over online postings are an emerging phenomenon, said Jeff Portnoy, a Honolulu attorney and First Amendment expert. In 2009, administrators at an Illinois beauty school students for creating a Facebook page insulting teachers.

Portnoy said technology is changing so fast that the courts will have to catch up setting ground rules on defamation and free speech.

The lawsuit against Hunt could discourage others from publicly criticizing Hawaii Student Housing properties — called the “chilling effect,” said James Bickerton, a Honolulu attorney with expertise in defamation law. That’s what often happens when people launch defamation suits against those with little means to defend themselves, he said.

“Legally it shouldn’t chill the speech, but the practical effect is that it does,” Bickerton told Civil Beat.

Hunt is representing himself — and he has fired back with a counterclaim saying the lawsuit is an attempt to intimidate him into silence.

The Road to a Lawsuit

For Hunt, the trouble started a little more than a year ago.

In August 2010, he moved into the Hana, a private Waikiki student housing complex then run by a company called Hawaii Student Housing. (The Hana reopened under new management last month as Stay Hotel Waikiki.)

“At the very beginning, I started noticing the cockroaches,” he said. “My girlfriend and I would play count the cockroach as we go downstairs.”

Just after he moved in, Hunt received an invoice that confused him. He though he had been overcharged by several hundred dollars and asked the company about it. The company later agreed in an October 2010 email, he said.

Later, Hunt said, he was told that because of renovations on the Hana, he would have to move to the Ohia, another Hawaii Student Housing property in Waikiki.

Hunt said he noticed mold in the Ohia after he moved in toward the end of the school year.

Near the beginning of July, he laid out his on Facebook. When he saw ads for the Hana and Ohia on Craigslist, he posted a link to his Facebook page there too.

On July 25, about two weeks after publishing the Facebook post, Hunt received a letter from the housing company’s lawyer, David Chee.

“It has come to my attention that you have made false statements in on-line postings, including a Face Book [sic] posting and various Craig’s List [sic] postings, regarding my clients’ properties,” it read. “Additionally, I am aware that you have been contacting prospective and future tenants directly.”

The letter said that if Hunt did not take down his posts about Hawaii Student Housing, Chee would file a lawsuit.

Hunt said he tried to contact Chee offering to remove anything that was untrue. He updated his blog with a note at the top saying he would take down any statements proved to be false.

On July 29, Hunt received a court summons. He was being sued for defamation. A few days later, after his lease ended, he moved out.

The apartments are managed by King Realty Hawaii, whose principal broker is Kingston Liao.

In a phone call with Civil Beat, Liao chalked up Hunt’s online complaints to an ongoing dispute with the apartment’s management.

“He wasn’t getting his way, so he decided to take things into his own hands,” Liao said.

But in a subsequent email, Liao explained the lawsuit in a much tamer tone:

“In July, the owner of the property took legal action to correct a series of false statements against our employees and business, and we believe the truth will come to light.”

Asked to respond to Hunt’s allegations, Liao said that Hawaii Student Housing maintains a full maintenance staff to keep up its properties.

“This includes regular pest control inspections and treatments as well as significant steps to identify and eliminate potential mold-conducive conditions in the building,” he wrote in an email. “Any reports by students regarding problems in the building are addressed in a timely fashion.”

Did Hunt’s Blog Hurt Hawaii Student Housing?

To win their case in court, Portnoy said the housing company will have to prove two things: That it lost tenants or suffered some kind of economic harm because of Hunt, and that his words were untrue.

It’s not enough for a company to say that its reputation was hurt, Portnoy said. Hawaii Student Housing will have to prove it suffered economically.

For example, Portnoy said, “They’re going to have to establish that they are losing clients, or they have empty units that otherwise they would have rented.”

Liao and Chee’s lawsuit argues that Hawaii Student Housing suffered a loss in future tenants because of Hunt’s post. But in one email to Civil Beat, Liao wrote, “Hawaii Student Housing remains near full capacity.”

When questioned about the discrepancy, Liao wrote, “By publicly posting false and defamatory statements on the Internet and directly contacting prospective and future tenants and providing them with such misinformation, Mr. Hunt has caused current and future damages, including lost future rentals.”

Portnoy did say that some of Hunt’s allegations, if they were false, could conceivably hurt business. “The mold statement is a significant one,” he said.

Bickerton said Hawaii Student Housing might be able to argue that they will lose business in the future. But the company still has to do the work to prove that losses are more than just an abstract possibility, both lawyers said.

And then there’s the question of whether Hunt spoke the truth or lied.

Bickerton said specificity is key in proving a defendant’s statements false. “You have to say, ‘On this date, you said the following words. These words were false in the following way,’” he said.

The lawsuit says Hunt falsely accused the company of engaging in illegal activity against tenants, charging improper fees, engaging in fraud and having premises unfit for habitation. It does not indicate which specific portions of Hunt’s blog accuse the company of these things.

Liao did not list any specifics when Civil Beat asked him in an email to point out untrue portions of Hunt’s blog.

Hunt said he has offered to remove any statement from his blog if Hawaii Student Housing can prove it untrue.

“If they’re worried about being defamed, then why haven’t they taken this offer?” he said.

Hunt’s countersuit says the claims against him should be considered a SLAPP, “a strategic lawsuit against public participation.” That’s the term for a baseless defamation suit intended to shut down vocal opponents.

Bickerton questioned whether that approach would work for Hunt, saying a lawsuit is usually considered a SLAPP only when it limits participation in government, such as public testimony or petitioning.

Hunt’s suit goes on to say that Hawaii Student Housing violated , which governs landlords and tenants.

Among Hunt’s allegations:

• Violating concerning liability waivers by requiring Hunt to sign a waiver because of the building’s lead paint.

• Trampling on a requirement by deducting a fine from Hunt’s security deposit for replacement keys. Hunt said management changed the locks on his door even though he did not lose his keys.

• Entering Hunt’s room unexpectedly without two days notice, as required “except in case of emergency or where impracticable to do so.”

In court documents responding to Hunt’s claims, Hawaii Student Housing admits only that it charged Hunt for an extra set of keys “after he reported his prior set missing.” The company denied all other allegations.

For now, Hunt said he will prepare his arguments for court.

Hunt has also updated his blog with new information. He has catalogued media coverage of the lawsuit and questioned Hawaii Student Housing’s rating with the Better Business Bureau. He said he plans to collect statements from students who have had comparable experiences in the Hana and Ohia.

He may have a lot of time to do so. Portnoy said it could take a year for a case like this to go to trial.

That might be OK for Hunt. He said he’s confident he’ll come out ahead.

“I don’t care if they bring me to court, because I have nothing to be afraid of.”