KALAMAZOO —

A Facebook group targeting a Kalamazoo towing company has cost the business numerous contracts, according its attorney.

The

, meanwhile, has eclipsed the

mark in members.

created in February by 21-year-old WMU student Justin Kurtz, has generated “adverse publicity” that has resulted in T & J Towing losing “somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 to 15” contracts, said Richard K. Burnham, who earlier this month filed a $750,000 lawsuit against Kurtz on behalf of T & J Towing President Joseph Bird.

“He lost two more (accounts) over the weekend,” said Burnham, who declined to name those former T & J Towing clients.

Burnham said the value of lost business is “substantial,” but couldn’t provide a dollar figure.

Kurtz, an aviation student from Yorkville, N.Y., claims his Saturn SL2 was legally parked and that his complex-issued parking sticker was displayed when his car was towed in January from The Arboretum apartment complex. Kurtz says on his Facebook group that he believes his car was broken into and his parking sticker removed so that the car could be towed.

Similar allegations are made in

by people who say they were legally parked when they were towed by T & J, including some claims that parking stickers had been removed.

Burnham said the Facebook group, which now boasts more than 10,100 members, is filled with posts by Kurtz and others containing allegations that are “undocumented, unprosecuted, unproved and unpunished.” The Paw Paw attorney for T & J Towing said that if Kurtz can’t prove his allegation that his permit was disturbed, he is accountable for libel and slander.

“Mr. Kurtz has to be aware that this is not just some fun-and-games thing, that he’s created an impact and there’s going to be a responsibility if in fact he’s found to be responsible,” Burnham said.

T & J Towing’s Kalamazoo County Circuit Court lawsuit, in addition to seeking damages from Kurtz, requests a court order that he cease and desist “any further libelous and slanderous written claims” about the company.

Kurtz said he is working with a local attorney, who has until April 30 to file an answer to the lawsuit.

Meanwhile, Kurtz said his Facebook group has

, from as far away as Europe. “It’s definitely been shocking,” he said of its following. “It’s pretty intense.”

Burnham said he feels that his client has a strong case.

“He’s got the obligation to prove the correctness of his statements,” the attorney said of Kurtz. “I don’t have to prove that they’re incorrect ... That’s a problem that Mr. Kurtz has created and he’s got to ride that horse.

“He’s already taken (business) away from us short term, and probably permanently, and if he did that wrongfully because he was angry, he deserves to be held responsible.”

Contact Rex Hall Jr. at

or 269-388-7784.