Re: 2/26/01 - [CSC/CGE] Stockwatch: WAAAAHH!
WAAAAHH!
by Brent Mudry
A month after declaring itself the victim of the reprehensible cruelty of a mystery Internet poster, Great Canadian Gaming has now revealed the identity of its anonymous detractor, and confirms the culprit behind the nasty comments is not Whiskers, the well known Stockhouse BullBoards kitty. In a statement of claim filed Monday in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Great Canadian fingers Alec Rossa of Victoria as the author of unflattering comments about the company's executives on Stockhouse. The suit, filed by Vancouver lawyer John Douglas Shields of Shields Harney, replaces the "John Doe" suit launched on Jan. 22.
The allegations have not yet been proven in court and no statement of defence has yet been filed.
While nasty and derogatory comments are as prevalent as boosterish touts on stock chat-site postings, and disregarded by most serious investors, Great Canadian is greatly upset about a Jan. 17 comment by the Stockhouse poster. While chat-site postings were recently dismissed as just bathroom-wall graffiti by the outgoing head of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Arthur Levitt, Great Canadian has gone running off to get its day in court with Mr. Rossa.
"I heard that one of the big boys was cheating on his wife and now she wants half or all of his shares. That's the problem plus we should fire them all if they were in Vegas they could be bankrupt now!" states the Stockhouse BullBoard posting, as reprinted in the lawsuit.
In the suit, Mr. Shields claims that that in their ordinary and natural meaning, Mr. Rossa's words mean that Great Canadian "permits immoral acts, is in financial difficulty, and is bankrupt or insolvent." Great Canadian claims it has been seriously injured in its character, credit and reputation as a result of the Stockhouse posting.
In addition to unspecified general damages, Great Canadian also seeks punitive damages, as John Doe's words were "harsh, vindictive, reprehensible and malicious." The suit claims the text of the posting is so extreme that it is deserving of "full condemnation and punishment." Great Canadian also bases its punitive-damages claim on the "malice" and "cruelty" of the Stockhouse poster, and the fact that the posting may have been read by investors and potential investors.
While Great Canadian is nothing short of anguished over Mr. Rossa's allegation of wife-cheating, another company listed on the Canadian Venture Exchange, Consolidated Topper Gold Corp. was the target of even more amusing allegations from another Stockhouse BullBoards poster. The Consolidated Topper suit features a shaved cat called Whiskers, a length of duct tape and a rather unusual method of enhancing the male anatomy.
Unfortunately, a trial date has not yet been set for either suit. (Readers wishing more details of the Whiskers sausage suit may refer to a Street Wire dated Sept. 20, 2000, under the symbol CSC.)
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