EXCLUSIVE: Read the full, inside story of how a uni student, 23, left a one-star review on law firm's page and ended up being sued for $300k - as he reveals he was defending his MUM

A university student who was sued for $300,000 after leaving a one-star online review for a law firm - despite never being a client - was defending his mother, Daily Mail Australia can reveal. 

Queensland-based firm Nyst Legal sued Jaimyn Mayer, 23, along with search engine giant Google over the review - which was blank apart from the one-star rating.

The law firm, run by Chris Nyst and his son Brendan, launched defamation action in the Brisbane District Court in August 2020 and the case was settled last week.

Google and software engineer Jaimyn Mayer were named in the $300,000 civil suit after Nyst lawyers claimed a one-star review on the search giant damaged their business

Mr Mayer had not had any previous dealings with Nyst's lawyers.

The trouble began when his mother Tanya Love purchased a new car - a Dodge Journey - under a lease agreement for $24,000 in 2017.

She collected the vehicle from a Brisbane car dealership on December 15 and before she had driven back to her home the check engine light came on, Ms Love told Daily Mail Australia. 

Despite having a roadworthy test completed three days prior, she claimed the car had two bald front tyres and the driver's side power window switch did not work.

Tanya Love ( second from left) and Jaimyn with some of his siblings Keegan and Molly-Rose and Neo

She texted the dealership, who told her she shouldn't need to service the car for six months or 10,000kms and agreed to pay for a mechanic visit.

The same mechanic who issued the roadworthy then replaced the front tyres, scheduled a service for the check engine light, and confirmed the window switch along with the horn was broken.

Over several months, the check engine light continue to flash, the car's battery went flat on multiple occasions requiring roadside callouts, and the horn and alarm would randomly sound at shops or at night.

The issue could only be rectified by popping out a fuse.  

'The dealer sold me the car under the pretence of getting me back on my feet with a reliable family car,' Ms Love said. 

The Dodge Journey bought by Ms Love which had continuous issues that a Chrysler mechanic estimated would cost more than $8,000 to repair

In April 2018, an official Chrysler mechanic examined the car, paid for by the dealer, and found a number of other issues, including problems with the catalytic converter, oil leaks and shock absorbers. 

Less than six months on from buying the car, Ms Love said she thought the dealer should cover the cost, but when he did not, she said would go the Office of Fair Trading. 

At this point the dealer stopped answering Ms Love's messages, she claims.

Three months later Ms Love left a negative Google review on the dealership's page as the issues with the car continued - which the Chrysler mechanic estimates will cost in excess of $8,000 to repair. 

Chris Nyst from Nyst Lawyers has represented a number of high-profile clients including One Nation leader Pauline Hanson when she defended fraud charges in 2003

In January 2019, Ms Love then received emails and written letters from Nyst Legal who were contracted by the car dealership. 

Ms Love said said the letters 'topped it all off'.

'It was like rubbing salt in a wound,' she said.

The is what prompted her son - currently studying computer science at Queensland University of Technology - to leave his one-star review for the law firm.

'I hadn't been represented by Nyst Legal but I had firsthand experience with them,' Jaimyn said.

'I care greatly about my mum and felt I needed to stand up for her when she was vulnerable. I figured an appropriate way to do this was to leave a review on their Google listing.' 

In his civil suit, Mr Mayer claimed his review was valid based on his knowledge of the work done by the law firm, even though he was never a client.

According to University of Western Australia senior law lecturer Michael Douglas, online reviews if detailing a genuine experience or an honest opinion are protected.

However, reviews which are written for the sole purpose of damaging a business's reputation could be subject to defamation action. 

'In Australia, freedom of speech is not as free as some might think,' Mr Douglas previously wrote for the ABC.

'Although we have an implied freedom of political communication, we do not have a US-style right to free speech. Defamation law places significant limitations on '.

Whether a person needs to have been a customer of a business to have a valid opinion of them is a grey area - one that might have been tested had Mr Mayer's case not been discontinued.  

Google can also be held responsible in Australia for any defamatory reviews published on their platform a High Court ruling in 2018 established. 

The settlement details are confidential and include that Google remove the review posted by Mr Mayer (stock image) 

In their defamation action, Nyst Lawyers claimed the negative review damaged their business and humiliated, hurt and distressed them, court documents seen by Daily Mail Australia state. 

They claimed the review implied the firm's lawyers 'provide poor service and should be avoided, are unprofessional, inept and the quality of work they produce is poor'. 

Their civil court case was launched after Mr Mayer and Google failed to remove the review despite a number of warnings. 

However, last week, Nyst Lawyers reached a confidential settlement with Google that included the search giant having to remove the review.  

Brendan Nyst previously said he could not reveal details of the settlement but that both he and his father were pleased with the result. 

Brendan Nyst of Nyst Lawyers sued Google over the negative review 

But Hallewall Law firm claimed their client, Mr Mayer, only agreed to discontinuing the case after Google settled and the Nysts covered his legal costs of $8,000. 

'Jaimyn is delighted with the outcome. He is pleased that he stood up for himself,' Hallewell Law firm principal Adrian Hallewell said. 

' did not remove the review. Google removed it.' 

As for Ms Love and her Dodge Journey, the lease company agreed to release her from any further payments at a total discount of $14,599 because of the allegedly unsafe and unusable condition the car was sold to her in. 

She has since bought a Suzuki Swift - with that dealer giving her a $2,000 trade-in for the Dodge. 

Nyst Legal has represented a number of celebrity clients over four decades of practice including One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, tennis star Bernard Tomic and tobacco tycoon Travers 'The Candyman' Beynon.

Google reviews are used by millions of people internationally to rate businesses, with pressure on authorities to increase regulation and ensure reviews are legitimate. 

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has warned that if platforms do not remove reviews that have been proven to be fake they risk breaching the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. 

Fines of up to $1million can apply, the ACCC said. 

Similarly, Amazon has come under fire for posting misleading reviews, with the UK consumer watchdog currently investigating the platform and Google over how the system could be improved. 

In 2019, Australia's Council of Small Business dealt with a case where a union tried to harm a business by spamming negative reviews. 

Celebrity clients of Nyst Lawyers have previously included Gold Coast tobacco tycoon Travers Beynon (pictured centre) 

Just this week Google removed 70 false reviews made by a Menulog Courier about a small Sydney Italian restaurant suggesting the eatery was 'totally unhygienic'. 

Conversely, fake positive reviews for businesses and reviews targeted against competitors were also an issue with the ACCC. 

A removal company was even previously ordered to pay a $6,600 fine after writing fake reviews praising its services on their own website. 

The consumer advocate said Australians should be able to get accurate information on a business when searching. 

'We are really just concerned to make sure that other consumers reading those reviews are not misled by them and fully appreciate the circumstances in which those reviews are given,' ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court previously said.

Fines can also apply if a business selectively removes negative reviews. 

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Nyst Legal for comment. 

Chris Nyst from Nyst Lawyers reached a settlement with tech giant Google which included them having to remove the negative review