Companies that use lawsuits to stifle criticism

The New York Times had an interesting article this morning illustrating how corporations can use their deep pockets to stifle criticism ("Venting Online, Consumer Can Find Themselves in Court").  Apparently, T&J Towing, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, is abusing the legal system, suing a consumer (Justin Kurtz) for $750,000 in damages after he complained online about mistreatment (on Facebook).  This sort of thing is known as a strategic lawsuit against public participation, or Slapp.  It sounds like T&J Towing has some sort of arrangement whereby they can tow cars that they think are violating some law, without any hearing or judgement by a disinterested party.  They charge the owner of the towed car for the towing, and it doesn't matter if the car was legally parked ("The towing company’s lawyer said that it was justified in removing Mr. Kurtz’s car because the permit was not visible."  I wonder if "not visible" means that the tow truck driver did not bother to check.).  The point here is that companies have a lot more money than individuals.  They can and do use frivolous lawsuits to punish critics. 


I suspect that the city of Kalamazoo has the power to revoke T&J Towing's authority to tow.  After all, it's most often municipal codes that are being enforced.  The consistent stories I'm seeing on the Facebook site make me think that the appropriate city officials will have to respond to their citizens and T&J Towing will probably be shut down.


This case illustrates the power of companies to abuse the legal system and stifle criticism.  I am interested in how it turns out.  It has broader implications affecting the rights of consumers to honestly share their experiences online.