Key Takeaways
- Starr Manufacturing filed a defamation lawsuit against Julie Watson for a one-star Google review claiming quality issues.
- The company alleges that Watson’s claims are false and that she has never been their customer.
- They seek over $25,000 in damages, legal costs, and attorney fees due to reputational harm.
- Starr’s attorney argues the negative review is rooted in a personal vendetta, not a legitimate customer complaint.
- Watson has previously left multiple five-star reviews for other businesses and remains unreachable for comment.
According to an August 22, 2026, article published by PEOPLE Magazine, Starr Manufacturing company sued a woman after she left it a one-star review on Google.
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Starr Manufacturing Inc. is a family-owned business in Ohio that manufactures industrial equipment. It has filed a defamation lawsuit against Columbus resident Julie Watson in the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas on August 12.
According to the legal complaint obtained by PEOPLE, Watson “falsely and maliciously made claims” that the company “had various quality and manufacturing failures with multiple customers” in her public Google review.
She stated that she could provide names and addresses of additional individuals who could confirm the manufacturing issues. This was mentioned in both the complaint and her review.
Consequently, the company stated that its business suffered damages and significant reputational harm.
Further, the plaintiff stated that they believe Watson will “continue to post and/or publish the false and malicious allegations” against them unless a court of law stops her.
Starr Manufacturing is currently seeking more than $25,000, as well as court costs and attorney fees.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Thomas Nader is the attorney representing Starr Manufacturing in the lawsuit. He stated that Watson has never been a customer of the company. Moreover, he claims that the negative review stems from a “personal vendetta” involving Watson and a company employee.
Starr Manufacturing said Watson has never been a customer.
“The defendant is not a customer of Starr Manufacturing and has never been a customer of Starr,” Nader told PEOPLE.
“This was the result of a personal relationship between the defendant and an employee of Starr,” he continued. “This lawsuit is not about Starr Manufacturing being upset about a bad review from a customer. This is a personal vendetta.”
PEOPLE said they could not reach Watson for a comment.
Starr currently has 13 Google reviews. Watson has left a handful of Google reviews over the past seven years. All but the Starr Manufacturing review are five stars.