A woman is facing a defamation lawsuit after leaving a one-star Google review for Vienna, Ohio-based manufacturer of industrial equipment, with the business seeking more than $25,000 (approximately £18,600) in damages.
Starr Manufacturing Inc., a family-owned company that makes industrial equipment, filed a lawsuit against Columbus resident Julie Watson on 12 Aug. in the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas. According to the legal complaint, the company claims Watson made false and malicious statements about alleged quality and manufacturing failures in her public review.
Starr Manufacturing alleges in the complaint that the review caused business damages and 'significant reputational harm', and the company's attorney says Watson was never a customer.
Its attorney, Thomas Nader, said the dispute instead stems from what he described as a personal vendetta involving Watson and one of the company's employees. Watson has not commented on the allegations.
What Did The Google Review Say?
According to the complaint, Watson wrote in her one-star Google review that Starr Manufacturing had experienced 'various quality and manufacturing failures with multiple customers', allegations the company says are false and malicious
The company alleges that those claims were false and malicious. Watson also reportedly wrote that she could provide the names and addresses of other people who could confirm the alleged manufacturing problems.
Starr Manufacturing argues that the review caused damage to its business and 'significant reputational harm'. The company alleges that Watson may continue to post or publish what it describes as false and malicious allegations unless a court intervenes.
The lawsuit is therefore focused on the statements made in the public review, rather than simply the fact that Watson gave the company a one-star rating.
Starr Manufacturing is seeking more than $25,000 (approximately £18,600), with the precise amount to be determined, according to the complaint, The company is also asking for court costs and attorney fees.
The complaint was filed in the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas on 12 Aug., according to the legal documents obtained by PEOPLE.
Company Says Review Was Personal
Thomas Nader, the attorney representing Starr Manufacturing, disputed the idea that the lawsuit was simply a company reacting badly to criticism from an unhappy customer.
Nader told PEOPLE that Watson has never been a customer of Starr Manufacturing. Nader said the review was connected to a personal relationship between Watson and an employee of the company.
'The defendant is not a customer of Starr Manufacturing and has never been a customer of Starr Manufacturing,' Nader told PEOPLE.
He added that the case was the result of what he called a 'personal vendetta'.
'[This lawsuit] is not about Starr Manufacturing being upset about a bad review from a customer. This is a personal vendetta,' Nader said.
Watson could not be reached for comment.
Starr Manufacturing currently has 13 Google reviews. Watson has posted a handful of Google reviews over the past seven years, and the Starr Manufacturing review is the only one among them that was not a five-star rating.
The lawsuit alleges defamation and seeks damages, but the allegations have not been proven in court. For now, the company's complaint represents its allegations against Watson, while Watson has not publicly responded to the claims.
Lawsuits over Google reviews have happened before. In a 2021 unpublished Michigan Court of Appeals decision, the court held that a wordless one-star Google review was an expression of opinion and was not capable of defamatory meaning as a matter of law.
Reviews containing specific statements that can potentially be proved true or false may raise different defamation issues from a review that consists only of an expression of opinion.
A separate Australian dispute involved a $300,000 (approximately £222,000) damages claim over a one-star Google review posted in 2019. That distinction is relevant here, as Starr Manufacturing alleges Watson made false claims about its manufacturing failures.
The allegations in Starr Manufacturing's complaint have not been proven in court, and Watson has not publicly responded to the claims.
