Legal action filed by a UK cosmetic surgery chain against a former patient has been denied by a judge, who said the civil injunction it hoped to have passed was “totally without merit.”
UK’s Free Speech Union is representing the former patient and is working to raise funds to fight other legal action from the same firm filed against four former patients.
The legal victory is “an important milestone, but the fight is far from over,” the Free Speech Union says.
In February 2023, a female patient identified as Tracy had undergone a blepharoplasty surgery at one of Signature Clinic’s surgical facilities.
Patient Tracy took then to a Facebook group, sharing what she felt was an honest and accurate review of her experience and results, and seeking help due to concerns of swelling, The Times reported on Wednesday.
A Signature Clinic lawyer wrote to Tracy “and used the threat of imprisonment for contempt of court to tell her to stop her ‘itchy fingers,’ according to a case update by the Free Speech Union and prior reporting by UK’s The Times.
“I didn’t think I’d done anything wrong yet I was threatened with bankruptcy and told I could lose my house,” patient Tracy told The Times.
“We welcome honest feedback from clients and we will always try to resolve any issues directly through our customer service channels in the first instance. Taking legal action will always be a last resort. We have noted the judge’s comments and we accept his judgment.”
Signature Clinic spokesperson
An updated shared Wednesday by the Free Speech Union further reads:
“The case against [Tracy] was thrown out by a district judge, who declared that it was ‘totally without merit’, and fell far short of the legal standard required for Signature to have brought it in the first place.
“Yet despite the sharp criticism from the judge, the clinic has persisted with its legal action against the Signature Four and, should they be unable to defend themselves in court, the threat to them remains as real as ever.”
Of the cases filed by the Signature Clinic against former patients and others, revealed in December, Tracy’s is the first to be heard by a judge.
Despite the legal win not in its favor, Signature Clinic is persisting in ongoing legal action against four others, who face defamation charges and against another whom it accuses of harassment, the Free Speech Union and Times report.
Signature Clinic previously maintained that a vast majority of its patients were happy with their treatment experiences and outcome, that it only took legal action where warranted and after asking persons to consider redacting or revising parts of their reviews, and that it was “entitled to protect the goodwill in its name and its business reputation as an asset of value.”
Of its latest legal loss, a spokesperson for Signature Clinic said, “We welcome honest feedback from clients and we will always try to resolve any issues directly through our customer service channels in the first instance. Taking legal action will always be a last resort. We have noted the judge’s comments and we accept his judgment.”
A later hearing will determine whether damages are awarded to the former patient, the Times reports.