Overstock.com Fights Campaign of Stalls and Lies by Rocker and Gradient
SALT LAKE CITY, March 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Overstock.com(R) (Nasdaq: OSTK) President Patrick Byrne issued the following response to Gradient Analytics' notice of appeal, filed in response to the California Superior Court ruling denying Gradient's Anti-SLAPP Motion to Strike all causes in the Overstock.com lawsuit:
(Logo: newscom.com )
'Eight months ago Gradient and Rocker were thumping their chests
threatening to counter-sue us. I said at the time that they would not
because these miscreants could not survive the discovery a counter-suit
would trigger. They still have not filed suit, and now, once again, they
are doing whatever they can to stall the discovery process. I once again
invite them to counter-sue, and let us move to discovery quickly.'
'In addition, while Gradient, Rocker and their cronies attempt to spin
this as a First Amendment issue, let me remind observers that the
activities described in our witness's declarations are covered by a
technical term: 'illegal.' It is 'illegal' to let favored clients doctor
research then publish it as independent; it is 'illegal' to permit such
clients to front-run that same research; it is 'illegal' to front-run it
themselves through hedge funds they secretly control. Their arguments
that this conduct is somehow all protected by the First Amendment were
roundly rejected by the Honorable Vernon Smith, whose decision these
blackguards now dismiss as an 'erroneous trial-court ruling.' Good luck
with that, fellows.'
Overstock.com filed its original lawsuit against research firm Gradient Analytics and hedge fund Rocker Partners in August 2005 when it learned the firms colluded to publish false and misleading research in a scheme to engineer stock fluctuations from which Rocker and Gradient's owners could front-run stock trades while harming Overstock's reputation with consumers, suppliers, and employees.
About Overstock.com
Overstock.com, Inc. is an online 'closeout' retailer offering discount, brand-name merchandise for sale over the Internet. The company offers its customers an opportunity to shop for bargains conveniently, while offering its suppliers an alternative inventory liquidation distribution channel. Overstock.com, headquartered in Salt Lake City, is a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ National Market System and can be found online at overstock.com.
Overstock.com is a registered trademark of Overstock.com, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies.
SOURCE Overstock.com
Source: PR Newswire (March 8, 2006 - 9:29 PM EST)
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