ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Kane's Furniture has won a court fight to shut down a consumer-oriented Web site that had steered hundreds of complaints to state regulators over the past three years.

The Web site, www.kanes-furniture.net, helped the Florida Attorney General's Office forge a rare civil suit against the Pinellas Park retailer in November. But Pinellas County Circuit Judge Walt Logan issued the injunction last month, shutting down the site.

"I got over 400 complaint letters from people all over the state and posted them on the site," said Manny Gonzalez, the site's operator. "I guess Kane's finally just had a belly full. Their attorney called me and said if I didn't take the site down, they'd have me and my wife put in jail. Now they're suing me for quite a bit of money.''

When state investigators found out about the injunction, they were angry and ready to retaliate.

"We think it's the most outrageous thing,'' said Angie Sheridan, assistant attorney general in the economic crimes unit in Orlando. She said the state would file a "friend of the court" brief as soon as Tuesday, describing the injunction as both anti-consumer and a violation of free speech.

But Lisa Brock, a public relations specialist representing Kane's, said the sole issue is one of trademark infringement.

"It is downright offensive to have false claims aired in such a way, particularly when a trademark that is respected and well-regarded is being unfairly assaulted like this,'' Brock said. "That's why we've taken this legal path.''

Kane's reputation has taken other hits during the past year. The state in early 2002 began investigating hundreds of customer complaints, the most ever generated by a Florida retailer, officials said.

Among Kane's alleged offenses: advertising false sales promotions, delivering defective goods, failing to respond to complaints, failing to repair or replace items and refusing to give refunds.

Last spring, the state proposed a settlement that would have required Kane's to pay a $400,000 fine and comply with a consent order mandating certain customer-service practices.

Instead, Kane's sued the state, accusing the Attorney General's Office of overstepping its legal authority by attempting to interfere in its business. That case was dismissed by a state Circuit Court judge in Pinellas County but is now on appeal.

In November, the Attorney General's Office filed a civil suit accusing Kane's of deceptive trade practices, civil theft and other offenses involving as much as $500,000 in disputed transactions. Kane's has denied the allegations and filed a motion to dismiss that suit.