Paying for college is never easy.  However, an angry small business is try to make paying for college even tougher for one unlucky student at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  The student, Justin Kurtz, was frustrated with an experience with the local towing company T&J Towing, so he decided to take action by creating a Facebook group "Kalamazoo Residents against T&J Towing".  Now T&J Towing is suing Kurtz for $750,000 in damages, accusing him of libel and character defamation.

Kurtz was shocked at the suit.  He points out that the site did not promote any untrue statements or threats, it merely encouraged customers to share their experiences.  He states, "It's kind of shocking. It's a little comical for how much he's suing me.  It's not like I was making untrue claims or anything.  t's not like I had control over anything that everyone had posted the whole time. I told everyone to be professional, don't post any threats. Just tell your story and that's what pretty much everyone did."

T&J Towing hardly has a sterling record.  The company is employed by local businesses and apartment complexes to remove unwanted vehicles, but many Kalamazoo residents claim their cars were towed from their own apartment complexes or while parked in legitimate spaces while visiting friends.  Multiple complaints have been filed against the company with the Michigan Better Business Bureau.

Professor Curt Benson, an instructor at Cooley Law School (Michigan) says the lawsuit is bizarre both in the amount and the claims.  He says that the company's lawyers will have to prove that Kurtz was lying on the page, a tough task.  He states, "So frankly, he's got an awfully hard lawsuit to win here and frankly, I get the impression it's more like him sending a message to the community, 'don't say anything negative against me because I'll file a lawsuit against you.'"

Kurtz says that he doesn't know where he'd get that kind of money from, if he loses the case.  He states, "And the first few years out of college, I probably still won't be making a tenth of that.  I don't know where he thinks he'll get the money from."

If he wins the case, however, he may be able to countersue for damages and legal expenses for bringing a frivolous suit against him.

Local media organizations contacted T&J Towing, but it and its legal representatives refused to comment on the case.

The Facebook group is still going strong; enrollment jumped from 3,800 members to 5,500+ members after the story broke on local news networks.