A California Veterinary Center has filed a suit against review site, Yelp for allegedly promising to hide bad reviews in exchange for purchasing $3,600 worth of advertising on the site.

Cats and Dogs Animal Hospital owner Gregory Perrault alleges, "Yelp frequently exercises its control over the Yelp. com listing application to modify business listing pages to the advantage of businesses that purchase Yelp advertising subscriptions, and the disadvantage of those that decline".

Perrault says that his dispute with Yelp started from two "defamatory" reviews that appeared on the site. The posts included statements like "Dr. Perrault is the rudest vet I've ever been to" and "my poor dog was terrified of him".

Perrault says that after these reviews came out, he began receiving numerous calls from Yelp advertising employees who assured to maneuver Cats and Dogs' Yelp. com listing page in barter for Cats and Dogs buying an advertising subscription from them.

Santa Clara University Law Professor, Eric Goldman says that even if Cats and Dogs can prove that Yelp's sales representatives promised to remove bad reviews in exchange for ad purchases, it's not clear that such tactics violate California's business code.

Meanwhile, a Yelp spokesperson denied the allegations and said the company will fight the lawsuit vigorously.