To: Anthony@Pacific (38741 )
From: Bruce A. Thompson
Tuesday, Jun 15 1999 9:02AM ET
Reply # of 38801
Anthony, Pink gets named in suit....
Monday June 14, 1:24 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Hitsgalore.com Files $20 Million Lawsuit
Against Internet Posters
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 14, 1999--
Hitsgalore.com, Inc. (OTC BB:HITT - news) today announced that it has filed a
Complaint against one identified
and five anonymous Internet posters for Libel, Tortious Interference With Business
Relations and Civil
Conspiracy in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The
Complaint, entitled
Hitsgalore.com, Inc. v. Janice Shell, et al., Case No. 99-1387-CIV-T-26C, seeks
damages in excess of Twenty
Million Dollars ($20,000,000.00).
The Complaint names Janice Shell, John Doe No. 1 a/k/a ''Paul Kersey,'' John Doe No.
2 a/k/a ''Mayor,'' John
Doe No. 3 a/k/a ''Mr. Pink,'' John Doe No. 4 a/k/a ''mshater,'' and John Doe Nos.
5-100 as Defendants
(collectively the ''Defendants''). The Complaint alleges that, beginning at least as early as
May 1999 and
continuing through to the present, the Defendants intentionally and maliciously published
and republished a
variety of false and defamatory statements about Hitsgalore.com in a nationwide
''cybersmear'' campaign on
electronic bulletin boards on the Internet maintained by Raging Bull, Inc. (''Raging Bull'')
and Silicon Investor,
Inc. (''Silicon Investor''). These statements either explicitly state or imply that Hitsgalore
has engaged in
illegitimate, illegal, dishonest, fraudulent, and criminal business operations, when, in truth
and fact, the
Defendants knew or should have known that such statements were false and libelous
per se.
Steve Bradford, the CEO of Hitsgalore.com, believes that it is absolutely essential that
all responsible parties be
held fully accountable for their activities, and this action is the first formal step for
Hitsgalore.com in taking the
offensive against those seeking to destroy the reputation, damage the market value of
the Company's common
stock and undermine the business affairs of the Company through anonymous posting
activity. Steve Bradford
stated that: ''the Company intends to issue subpoenas to Raging Bull and Silicon
Investor to ascertain the
identities of the John Doe Defendants, and to aggressively undertake discovery in this
case.'' The Company's
attorneys are also investigating possible defamation charges against David Evans, a
Bloomberg reporter, for
certain negative news articles which the Company believes are misleading in nature.
Jeanette Wilcher, the Trustee of The Life Foundation Trust with whom the Company
has various business
relations, stated that: ''I applaud, commend, and fully support the efforts of
Hitsgalore.com in bringing the
anonymous Internet posters to justice.''
The Company would also like to gratefully acknowledge the substantial assistance it has
received from various
persons throughout the country in investigating the Internet activity by the Defendants
and others, and
welcomes further contact from individuals with knowledge of this cybersmear campaign.
If you have any information which you believe would be helpful to the Company in
prosecuting this matter,
please contact Carl F. Schoeppl, Esq., or Daniel J. Becka, Esq., at Schoeppl & Burke,
P.A., the Company's
litigation counsel, 4800 North Federal Highway, Suite 210-A, Boca Raton, Florida
33431-5176, Telephone: (561)
394-8301, Facsimile: (561) 393-6541, and E-Mail: Schoeppl@aol.com.
Contact:
Hitsgalore.com, Inc., Rancho Cucamonga
Danny Gavin, Investor Relations
800/300-5388
Investor@Hitsgalore.com
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