After a towing company hauled Justin Kurtz’s car from his apartment complex parking lot, despite his permit to park there, Mr. Kurtz, 21, a college student in Kalamazoo, Mich., went to the Internet for revenge.
Outraged at having to pay $118 to get his car back, Mr. Kurtz created a Facebook page called “Kalamazoo Residents against T&J Towing.” Within two days, 800 people had joined the group, some posting comments about their own maddening experiences with the company.
T&J filed a defamation suit against Mr. Kurtz, claiming the site was hurting business and seeking $750,000 in damages.
We thought about doing a quick piece on this yesterday but
then we thought, “where have we heard about this kind of thing before?” Oh yeah. It’s your basic “hypocrisy” tale, and we love those!
Businesses typically think that the courts should be theirs
alone, reserved exclusively for their SLAPP (“strategic lawsuit against public
participation”) lawsuits like this one, or their patent, trademark, breach of
contract and damaged property actions, to make sure they can recover money that
they feel they’re owed. That’s why
“tort reform” laws only limit consumers’ ability to recover damages. They leave companies with unfettered
access to the courts to recover commercial losses. In fact, companies bring thousands of such suits each year,
sometimes in an effort simply to browbeat small businesses or individuals into
submission – like this one.
Litigation has become a time-honored way for businesses to do business.
But first, what’s a SLAPP suit? The Times described it well: “The label has traditionally referred
to meritless defamation suits filed by businesses or government officials
against citizens who speak out against them. The plaintiffs are not necessarily
expecting to succeed — most do not — but rather to intimidate critics who are
inclined to back down when faced with the prospect of a long, expensive court
battle.”
We took a look at the news today and found a few other
businesses lawsuits of interest:
For example, we are thrilled to report that Wright Medical
Group Inc and
Howmedica Osteonics Corp., a subsidiary of Stryker Corp., have resolved their copyright
infringement lawsuit! “The lawsuit, which was filed in 2000,
alleged that Wright Medical’s Advance knee implant product violated a patent
held by Howmedica, which sought an order of infringement and unspecified
damages.” We thought this one was
particularly ironic given that right now, medical device companies are completely
immune for any liability for implanting defective devices into people. How nice that their copyright
complaints haven't been touched.
Then there’s the suit filed by producers of The Hurt Locker
against 5,000 “Joe Doe” pirates
who allegedly downloaded the film.
Lots of money involved here.
“The complaint notes that 'Defendants' infringements allow them and
others unlawfully to obtain and distribute for free unauthorized copyrighted
works that the Plaintiff spends millions of dollars to create and/or
distribute.” Apparently, the head of Voltage Pictures is really angry at these
John Does, reportedly writing an email back to someone who complained about the
impending lawsuit:
I'm glad you're a moron who believes stealing is right. I hope your family and your kids end up in jail one day for stealing so maybe they can be taught the difference. Until then, keep being stupid, you're doing that very well. And please do not download, rent, or pay for my movies, I actually like smart and more important HONEST people to watch my films.
Speaking of the entertainment business, maybe Carly Simon
(who’s suing Starbucks) and Hulk Hogan (who’s suing Post Foods) will join those equally-angry people fighting for access to the courts for everyone – not just
businesses and celebs.
And we wish everyone good luck in their various lawsuits!
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