By Olivia Richman
Publication Date: 2026-08-24 12:21:00
A one-star Google review of an Ohio manufacturing company has moved beyond the usual territory of irritated customers, terse owner responses, and arguments over star ratings.
Starr Manufacturing Inc., a Vienna, Ohio-based industrial equipment manufacturer, filed a lawsuit against Columbus resident Julie Watson in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court in August. The company alleges Watson made false statements about its manufacturing work in a Google review posted earlier this year. The Tribune Chronicle reported that the lawsuit includes claims for defamation, defamation per se, and defamation by implication.
Starr isn’t complaining merely that Watson gave the company one star. Her review made specific claims about quality-control problems, subcontractors, repairs at well-pad sites, and improperly connected or tightened fasteners. She also wrote that she could provide locations and people who could confirm what she described as recent production and quality failures.
The company says…
