A towing company in Michigan sued a Western Michigan University student for $750,000, claiming that his Facebook group has cost the company that much money in business.
 
Joseph Bird, the owner of T&J Towing, claims in the suit that WMU junior Justin Kurtz is using the group in a “crusade to post verbal and written claims and misuse of the Internet with allegations that are untrue and/or dishonest and without merit.”
 
Kurtz started the group because he was upset about his own car being towed, but many of the comments on the group’s page indicate that many students believe the companies’ practices are unfair.  By April 13th, Kurtz’s group “Kalamazoo Residents against T&J Towing” had about 4,200 members. 
 
Despite the size of the lawsuit, Kurtz seemed relatively unfazed. “It was $750,000 for slander and defamation of character—lost income, I guess,” he told Channel 8 Wood TV. “It’s kind of shocking. It’s a little comical for how much he’s suing me.”
 
Comments on Kurtz’s group range from legal advice to well-wishing to anecdotal supporting evidence. In a message echoed by many others, one recent poster wrote, “they towed my vehicle when i was legally parked, in my apartment lot, with a sticker for the apartment. i walked into my friends apt, grabbed my backpack, said goodbye, went outside and it was gone (sic). …oh, and for the record, bring exactly $120 or whatever it is, because they won’t give you change.”
 
Local Newschannel 3 interviewed two former employees of T&J, both of whom corroborated the complaints being brought against the company. One said that he was asked to do things he felt were wrong “about 80 percent of the time.” The two employees declined to be identified, saying that if Bird found out who they were he would “likely have us messed with.”
 
The former employees were unable to give proof of their claims, and Bird said that, even though he didn’t know their identities, they were simply disgruntled employees badmouthing his business.
 
Regardless, with time and added publicity, Kurtz will likely continue to accumulate members to his group—“for every resident who was legitimately parked where they are supposed to be but were still towed by this dishonest company”—as the case moves toward judicial resolution.

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