Judy,

I think the concern is liability for defamation. One of the elements of a suit for libel or slander is the intentional publication of false information to a third party which results in damages to the injured party. In some states there is something call slander/libel per se. This means that if the false statement injures someone in their ability to run their business damages are presumed, and the first element of the defamation suit is established.

As far as your question goes, I think it has to do with the degree of publication of the information. If it takes the form of a negative rating there is wide scale publication, and the second element of a civil action for defamation is established.

If a list of problem clients is compiled by you personally for your personal use, and the list is not distributed to third parties, you probably will not have a problem because there is no publication. I know there is such a list floating around on one of the notary boards with all kinds of disclaimers attached to it. Whether or not the disclaimers will protect the author of the list remains to be seen. He or she may be entirely correct (truth is a valid defense to a defamation suit because the information published is not false); however, the author of the list would still have to go through the expenses and aggravation of defending.

If you are inclined to maintain a list such as the one on the notary board, be prepared to back up the information contained on the list with documented information of precise problems of non-payment, dates, identities of individuals contacted to discuss payment, telephone notes of conversations, demand letters, etc.

Robert has expressed some very correct concerns in this matter concerning liability for such a list. I think we all need to think twice about the results of placing a negative rating on the board about a problem company...not the least of which is trying to explain away a negative rating that the problem company may publish about you out of vengeance (whether or not it is true.) It is counter productive to building your business.

I think the wiser course to follow is to contact your problem client directly to work out the problem. If as one of the above posts indicates, your client does not answer the phone, does not return telephone calls or gives you excuses for non-payment, you can always resort to the legal process. In most states there is something called a qualified privilege in defamation suits which allows the injured party (plaintiff) wide latitude to plead facts in his/her complaint against the defendant without running the risk of a defamation counterclaim. The qualified privilege protects the plaintiff as a defense. The reason for this is that the legal system balances the interestest of the parties and the legal systems desire for robust and open argument to resolve problems.

Hope this answers your question.