Re: 3/14/06 - [EAG] PR: Eagle Broadband Announces that California Court has Ordered Lawsuit to Proceed Against Internet Posters; Eagle Broadband Believes Internet Posters are Engaged in Manipulative Trading Activities and Stock Manipulation Schemes
March 14, 2006 - 4:30 PM EST
Eagle Broadband Announces that California Court has Ordered Lawsuit to Proceed Against Internet Posters; Eagle Broadband Believes Internet Posters are Engaged in Manipulative Trading Activities and Stock Manipulation Schemes
Eagle Broadband, Inc. (AMEX:EAG), a leading provider of broadband, Internet protocol (IP) and communications technology and services, announced today that the California Superior Court of Santa Clara County issued a ruling late last week allowing discovery to proceed in Eagle Broadband's case against Internet posters that Eagle believes are engaging in manipulative stock trading activities.
Eagle Broadband has alleged that these Internet posters have intentionally posted false information on the Yahoo! Finance message board in an effort to drive down the value of Eagle's stock price. In response to the complaint, four of the anonymous Internet posters filed motions to strike or dismiss the complaint as constitutionally protected speech on a matter of public interest under California's anti-SLAPP statute. On March 9, the Honorable William J. Elfving of the California Superior Court of Santa Clara County issued a ruling allowing discovery in the case to go forward with respect to two of the posters, known as DOE 2 and DOE 3, and ruling as a matter of law that Eagle had met its legal burden of establishing a prima facie case against a third poster, known as DOE 4, under the California's Anti-SLAPP law.
Judge Elfving wrote in the ruling, "The declaration of Deirdre A. Flaherty contains admissible evidence that Eagle's stock value and business suffered from DOE 4's fake press release and other false and misleading messages that were posted on the Eagle MB from January 1, 2005 through October 31, 2005. Accordingly, DOE 4's special motion to strike is denied."
David Micek, Eagle's President and CEO, said, "This is an important win for Eagle's loyal shareholders, but not an unexpected one. While Eagle fully respects the constitutional rights protected by California's anti-SLAPP statute, the Court's ruling is an acknowledgment that these Internet posters have simply gone too far."
Eagle filed this lawsuit on October 5, 2005. Since then, Eagle has learned the identity of several of the DOE defendants and will amend the complaint to include their real identities. Through the process of legal discovery, Eagle expects to learn additional identities as well as to obtain the financial and trading records for several of the DOES.
About Eagle Broadband
Eagle Broadband is a leading provider of broadband, Internet Protocol (IP) and communications technology and services, including: IPTVComplete(TM) the fastest, lowest cost way for broadband providers to deliver the most competitive IP video services; the MediaPro line of HDTV-ready IP set-top boxes enabling broadband providers and hotel operators to deliver state-of-the-art, interactive entertainment services; and, the SatMAXT communications system that provides government, military, homeland security and enterprise customers with non-line-of-sight voice and data satellite telephony from any location on Earth. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas. For more information, please visit www.eaglebroadband.com or call 281-538-6000.
EAGG
Forward-looking statements in this release regarding Eagle Broadband, Inc. are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, continued acceptance of the company's products, increased levels of competition, new products and technological changes, the company's dependence upon third-party suppliers, intellectual property rights, and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Eagle Broadband, Inc.
Brian Morrow, 281-538-6000
bmorrow@eaglebroadband.com
or
CWR & Partners
Ronnie Welch, 508-222-4802
ronnie@cwrpartners.com
Source: Business Wire (March 14, 2006 - 4:30 PM EST)
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