An Ohio-based industrial equipment manufacturer has sued a Columbus woman for slander after she posted a one-star Google review online.
Starr Manufacturing asserts in its lawsuit that the woman’s claims were untrue and seriously damaged its reputation. The company claims that in her public Google review, she allegedly “falsely and maliciously made claims” that the business “had various quality and manufacturing failures with multiple customers.”
The manufacturer also claims that the woman wrote in her Google review that she “could provide names and addresses of additional people who could confirm these manufacturing issues.”
Starr says the review caused “significant reputational harm” to its business in a defamation lawsuit filed against the woman in the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas on Aug. 12. The complaint also states that the company believes the woman will “continue to post and/or publish the false and malicious allegations” against them, if a court does not intercede.
She ‘has never been a customer’
According to Starr’s complaint, Ohio residents saw, read, and accepted her review as fact, despite her recklessly disregarding the truth in her accusations, thereby damaging their reputation.
The woman “is not a customer of Starr Manufacturing and has never been a customer,” according to a statement Thomas Nader, the company’s attorney, provided to People. He claims that it was a beef between the woman and a company employee that led to the unfavorable review.
“This was the result of a personal relationship between the defendant and an employee of Starr Manufacturing,” he added. “[This lawsuit] is not about Starr Manufacturing being upset about a bad review from a customer. This is a personal vendetta.”
According to one local media report, the woman’s review had accumulated 59 likes. Additionally, People reviewed the woman’s Google review history and found that the few other reviews she had written over the preceding seven years were all five-star.
In addition to court costs and legal fees, Starr Manufacturing is seeking more than $25,000, with the exact amount to be determined at trial.