Pop quiz. You find a disparaging post about your company on Twitter that's written by a client who's followed by a mere 20 people. You fear the offhand remark about the poor quality of your service could harm your company's reputation. What's the absolute worst way to make it go away?

Do you: A) ignore it. B) remedy the complaint. C) file a $50,000 libel lawsuit against the author to the sheer delight of tech hacks everywhere.

In a lawsuit filed Monday against former tenant Amanda Bonnen, the company claims it's the victim of a deceitful Tweet stating that Horizon is OK with mold.

Nested amongst Bonnen's otherwise benign 140-character postings about catching a Cubs game or breaking a heel, there lurked an allegedly ruinous Tweet from May 12 reading: "...Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it's okay."

Horizon claims in its complaint that up to the time of the insidious Tweet, it was a "company of good name, fame, and reputation and was deservedly held in high esteem" by both renters of the Windy City and the general public alike.

Alas, Bonnen's Twitter feed followed by 20 people (according to a screenshot entered into evidence by Horizon) has "greatly injured its reputation as a landlord in Chicago." Because her Twitter feed was viewable by the public at large, it allowed the Tweet to be "distributed throughout the world" and sully Horizon's name in parts unknown.

"We're a sue first, ask questions later kind of an organization," Jeffery Michael, whose family runs Horizon, told the Chicago Sun-Times, noting the company never asked Bonnen to take the post down.

Bonnen's Twitter page has since (and probably wisely) been closed — although an impostor with the same screen name has appeared since.

Horizon is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 for the post, plus court costs and any other relief the court deems proper. A copy of the lawsuit is available here ®

Related stories

• Blogger claims Twitter-served court order a success (6 October 2009)
• Twitter sued for patent infringement (6 August 2009)
• Cameron condemns Tweeters as tw*ts (29 July 2009)
• Gov geek publishes 5000-word Twitter guide (28 July 2009)
• Twitter, Facebook urged to improve security (22 July 2009)
• Fail and You Twitter docs hack exploits stupidity vuln (20 July 2009)
• Twitter's underwear exposed after Google Apps hack (15 July 2009)
• Hijacked Twitter accounts spread Koobface worm (10 July 2009)
• Mrs Slocombe's pussy vanishes from Twitter (2 July 2009)