A marketing professor is amazed at how quickly public opinion on the internet spurred Loblaws to drop its lawsuit for damages in the 2008 New Brunswick accident that killed seven members of the Bathurst High School basketball team and the coach's wife.

Atlantic Wholesalers Ltd. and Loblaws Inc. had filed a statement of claim on Dec. 22, alleging Bathurst High School basketball coach Wayne Lord, who was driving the van that collided with one of their transport trucks, was negligent in the crash.

But the companies were caught flat-footed when word of the court action got out on Friday, said Karen Blotnicky of Mount St. Vincent University in Halifax.

'This thing just grew legs and really put the company in a defensive position.'—Karen Blotnicky, marketing professor

Within an hour of CBC.ca reporting the story, more than 400 comments had been posted, expressing outrage at the suit and calling for a boycott of Loblaws.

Three groups protesting the suit also quickly appeared on the social networking site Facebook, prompting the Ontario-based parent company Loblaw Companies Ltd. to issue an apology and retract the suit.

"When you're living in an environment that is really driven through social media, you're dealing with something that can move like wildfire," said Blotnicky.

"You know whereas 10 years ago the company would have time to sit back, hear a bit of the scuttlebutt, make some decisions, this thing just grew legs and really put the company in a defensive position."

Still angry

Meanwhile, many basketball parents and coaches from across the province, who attended the annual KV Riverboat Classic tournament in Quispamsis on Saturday, were still angry about the lawsuit, even though Loblaws had backed down.

"It's disgraceful," said Lisa McLaughlin. "It's a shame, the families and the victims have been through way too much to have something thrown like this at them after the fact when the healing has started."

Andrew MacPherson, who coaches the Moncton High team and keeps in touch with Lord, said his heart "was broken.

"'Cause I knew [Lord's] was broken, and wasn't going to recover," he said.

"[I] personally wanted to see that go away and let people heal."

Blotnicky said the company was likely doing everything legally by the book, but such a public relations crisis could hurt its reputation for some time.

"I think the lesson to be learned with that is you have to really be careful before you make decisions," she said, suggesting setting up a scholarship fund for Bathurst area students could go a long way to helping the company recover.

In a written statement issued to CBC on Friday, Allan Leighton, president and deputy chairman of Loblaw Companies, said: "We thoroughly apologize for the alarm and concern caused by the statement of claim filed against Wayne Lord and Bathurst Vans Inc. and we will not seek further action.

"We would also like to thank all our customers that voiced their concern regarding our decision, allowing us to reconsider our actions," he said.