Starr Manufacturing Inc., a gas production equipment manufacturer in Vienna, Ohio, has filed a defamation lawsuit against a Columbus woman in the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas. The company is seeking more than $25,000 in damages, according to Law Commentary. The lawsuit claims that the woman "knowingly, maliciously, and intentionally" left a review on Google that was "false" and "defamatory" in March.
The complaint does not include the language of the actual review. However, NBC4 found a review posted by a woman named Julie Watson. The woman named in the lawsuit is also named Julie Watson.
"Can provide locations and names of additional people to contact to confirm recent production and quality failures. Would recommend doing business anywhere and with anyone else.” The lawsuit alleges that Watson’s claims are lies and that the company has sustained damages and "significant reputational harm" resulting from the review. The filing also stated that the company believes Watson will continue posting damaging, false reviews about the company until a court stops her.
Thomas Nader, an attorney representing Starr, told NBC4 that the company is not suing over a bad review but rather because Watson, he claims, was never a Starr customer. He told Law Commentary that the woman's allegedly false review was a "personal vendetta" that came after the break-up. The company is seeking actual and compensatory damages, punitive damages exceeding $25,000, attorney fees, and the cost of litigation, according to the lawsuit.
It also wants to secure a court order that would bar the woman from publishing false statements about the company. The Independent has asked Starr Manufacturing Inc for comment. Efforts to reach Julie Watson in Columbus were unsuccessful.
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