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Company sues messageboard members!!

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posted on Oct, 12 2005 @ 01:19 PM
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I thought this was interesting, and wonder how close to the wind we sometimes sail
However this is a specific company and issue ....
investor.eaglebroadband.com...

Eagle Broadband Files Lawsuit Against Internet Posters

HOUSTON, Oct 05, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Eagle Broadband, Inc. (AMEX:EAG), a leading provider of broadband, Internet protocol (IP) and communications technology and services, announced today that the company has filed a lawsuit containing claims for defamation and unfair business practices in the Superior Court of California against 25 anonymous "John Doe" defendants alleging that these defendants have distributed false, fraudulent and misleading misinformation on Internet message boards in an effort to damage Eagle's business and its shareholders, and to drive down the value of its stock in order to reap profits for themselves.

The 25 "John Doe" defendants named in the lawsuit include individuals using the following Internet message board ID's: "upanddown100", "team_3339", "bubba2o", "benderanddundat", "advanced_headlines", "richwill21", and "phil_phd2003", among others. The company may add additional defendants to this lawsuit as additional evidence warrants.

The company has evidence that these posters have engaged in unlawful activities and is seeking monetary and punitive damages from these individuals and/or firms who have engaged in deliberate misinformation campaigns designed to drive down the price of the company's stock in an apparent attempt to capture illegal gains from short sales.

The fraudulent and misleading information distributed by these defendants has been posted on widely visited financial Internet message boards including Yahoo! Finance, Raging Bull and others. The information has included, but is not limited to, fraudulent statements about the financial condition and business activities of the company, erroneous information about the company's products, partners and customers, and personal attacks against the company's management, board of directors and employees. The lawsuit is designed to stop these individuals and/or firms from continuing these illegal activities as well as to seek the full measure of damages and other remedies permitted by law.

"While Eagle Broadband fully respects individuals' right to free speech, we will not tolerate deliberate misinformation campaigns that disseminate false and fraudulent statements that damage the company, our shareholders and the value of our stock," said David Micek, President and CEO of Eagle Broadband.

[edit on 12-10-2005 by Netchicken]



posted on Oct, 12 2005 @ 01:23 PM
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Yikes.
I'm just going to hide away now.

Not that I post false info but, it makes me wonder how close Exxon has been monitoring me.



posted on Oct, 12 2005 @ 01:29 PM
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I wonder if they have specific info to support their claim that this was a deliberate campaign to drive down the value of the stock.



posted on Oct, 12 2005 @ 01:30 PM
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Good warning.


FYI - Despite my no-holds-barred, no pulling punches approach - I never have been sued. Not even for this one:

Merck and Vioxx: A Twisted Tale of Cover-ups, Pork and Profits


It does happen that, quite coincidentally I'm sure, a local company financed by a Merck subsidiary bought the apartment building I used to live in, doubled the rent, and forced me to move. Pretty sure it's not related though.




.

[edit on 12-10-2005 by soficrow]



posted on Oct, 12 2005 @ 01:38 PM
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our stock is tanking, let's blame a group of anonymous posters on a message board.

that should help prop the price up.



posted on Oct, 12 2005 @ 01:43 PM
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Just another attempt by The Man to silence the voices of the people.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

The Revolution will not be televised!



posted on Oct, 12 2005 @ 01:48 PM
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1.) You will not post any material that is knowingly false, misleading, or inaccurate.


There's a reason for that.
And it isn't just to protect the members.



posted on Oct, 12 2005 @ 02:05 PM
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Very interesting. I suppose if you are purposefully posting damaging statements about a company in order to procure some type of gain, then the company should be able to persue some form of legal action. However, I wonder if the company would be doing the same if the company was failing and the posted statements were positive in nature, although false.



posted on Oct, 12 2005 @ 02:55 PM
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Originally posted by DCFusion
Very interesting. I suppose if you are purposefully posting damaging statements about a company in order to procure some type of gain, then the company should be able to persue some form of legal action. However, I wonder if the company would be doing the same if the company was failing and the posted statements were positive in nature, although false.


I frequent a few stock message boards and I always get a kick out of the stock bashers. If anyone actually buys or sells a stock based on the typings of a completely anonymous person, especially after all the press received by the kids who raped and pillaged in the early days of internet popularity, they deserve what they get.



posted on Oct, 12 2005 @ 03:11 PM
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a) Pump and dump.

You buy a bunch of shares in a company, usually one that is fairly thinly traded. Then you make a press release ("pump") saying they have just made some incredible invention that they will announce . . . . Monday. The stock shoots up, and then you sell ("dump") before investors realize your original tout was a boldface lie.

b) Short and Distort

You create a bunch of buys and sells through different brokers (patently illegal), but have a slow net accumilaton of stock then you do a massive short sell, ("short"), borrowing shares you don't actually own. Then you release a press report, or magnify an existing one, that points to the company as being in trouble with regulators. ("distort"). Later, you repay the shares you borrowed at a much-reduced price, and pocket the difference.

THIS is illegal, because it is stock manipulation. It is also libel against the company you target.

That is the lawsuit. You can say all the nasty things you want about how the company is run. You can allege anything you want. When you say that "you know" the stock will tank (or soar), then you begin to flirt with crime, if you own stock in it while you make claims you knew to be a lie at the time.

Variations include finding a company that is trying to repatriate (buy back) its own stock. You threaten to releasea good rating on their stock before they can buy back their company, effectively making it so expensive that they will never be able to afford it again.

Or, you can con a boiler room into churning a stock for you, and then selling it just before they do. That'll put them in a good mood with ya!

the possibilities are endless.

Basically, they weren't merely exercising their free speech rights; the individuals are accused of using free speech in order to fleece people and/or the company.

edit content for fuzzy thinking. I need another Russian.

[edit on 12-10-2005 by dr_strangecraft]



posted on Oct, 12 2005 @ 03:19 PM
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The purpose of the law sue is to see if it stick in court, nothing more and nothing less, now, if the law sue find a judge that can go alone with them, then is going to be very bad news to any internet poster in any interenet boards including ATS.

So be ware, right now they are just going fishing, its up to a judge to allwed them to catch the fish.

Now I wonder if "Conspiracies" will be interpreted as misleading misinformation


What you all think.


[edit on 12-10-2005 by marg6043]



posted on Oct, 12 2005 @ 03:23 PM
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Originally posted by marg6043
The purpose of the law sue is to see if it stick in court,

So be ware, right now they are just going fishing, its up to a judge to allwed them to catch the fish.

Now I wonder if "Conspiracies" will be interpreted as misleading misinformation


What you all think.





Great points - as usual, marg. And I think you're right.

We should ask the admin to put a blanket disclaimer on the site - like lawyers put at the top of their letters and memos:

WITHOUT PREDJUDICE



.



posted on Oct, 12 2005 @ 03:24 PM
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these kinds of cases have popped up before.

I hear about them from time to time but never catch the outcome.



posted on Oct, 12 2005 @ 11:26 PM
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Then there's "employer bashing" on the Internet that companies are going after.

Honestly, what difference does it make where you complain about your job? Only difference is, with the Internet, you have a wider audience--most of whom don't really care anyway.

So it's best not to mention where you work if you have a complaint. I think it's stupid, though--message boards are a great way to get it off your chest and fish for a little sympathy.



posted on Oct, 13 2005 @ 03:20 AM
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Originally posted by marg6043
The purpose of the law sue is to see if it stick in court, nothing more and nothing less, now, if the law sue find a judge that can go alone with them, then is going to be very bad news to any internet poster in any interenet boards including ATS.

So be ware, right now they are just going fishing, its up to a judge to allwed them to catch the fish.

Now I wonder if "Conspiracies" will be interpreted as misleading misinformation


What you all think.


[edit on 12-10-2005 by marg6043]


I completely disagree. This lawsuit is another unfounded suit brought on by a company whose stock is suffering. I'm surprised to see such a suit on the AMEX though -- you usually see these with OTC and pink sheets. It usually results in a slight bump in the stock and then the company is left figuring out the next way to increase the stock price. As others have said, this is common in the stock market. I could name any number of posters from raging bull who have been sued this way.

This is a $0.15 stock that has been under a buck for over a year. Look at a their five-year chart and you'll see all you need to see: a nice death spiral.



Or you could look at insider activity this year alone and see the story. Noone's buying their stock, not even insiders. Institutions dumped their shares.

So, we come up with a lawsuit...






[edit on 10/13/2005 by titian]



posted on Oct, 13 2005 @ 09:33 AM
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Do you think many lawsuits in this category are successful?

Just looking at the suit's claims as portrayed in the article, I'd expect those allegations to be fairly easy to refute if they were false . . . . but, as you point out, the goal may not be to win a lawsuit, but to generate some positive buzz for the corp.

I also noticed that a lot of the initial moves by executives are marked "acquisition - non open market." I wonder what that means in this case. Part of their benefits package??



posted on Oct, 13 2005 @ 10:27 AM
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I am also a member of a messageboard that is seeking to sue various posters there for mis-information that is driving the price per share down. These people are known as 'bashers', and are paid a commission everytime someone replies to one of their posts. THe continued bashing has brought this n certain stock down 85% since I bought it. Here is a link to the site:

MRKL

As you can see, there are 'pumpers' who praise the stock beyond no end, and 'bashers', who try to drive the pps down. I am now left as a 'bagholder', since I didn't sell when it started tanking. All I can do now is sit and wait.




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