Starnet Files Defamation Law Suit Against Las Vegas Casino Inc. Claiming Damages for False and Malicious Statements On the Internet
Business Wire - August 05, 1999 11:00
WILMINGTON, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 5, 1999--Starnet Communications International Inc. (OTC BB:SNMM) ("Starnet"), its wholly-owned subsidiary, Softec Systems Caribbean Inc. ("Softec") and John Carley, a director of Starnet, filed a Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim against defendants, Las Vegas Casino, Inc. ("Las Vegas Casino"), Claude Levy, and Gambling Magazine, in the Vancouver Registry of the Supreme Court of British Columbia on Tuesday, August 3, 1999.
According to a Starnet spokesperson, Starnet, Softec and its senior management have been the target of a barrage of patently false and malicious statements published by the Defendants on the World Wide Web since July 23, 1999, the day after Softec properly and legally terminated its licensing agreement with Las Vegas Casino Inc. for non-payment of licensing fees.
The Defendant, Las Vegas Casino, is a Panama-registered company and the owner of numerous Internet casino and gambling sites. The Defendant, Claude Levy, lives in Belgium and was an officer and director of Las Vegas Casino at the time the statements were published. The Defendant, Gambling Magazine, publishes an Internet magazine of the same name and is administered by Claude Levy, according to the database of Network Solutions, the organization that manages all "dot.com" domain name registrations throughout the world.
According to the Statement of Claim, the Defendants published numerous statements that were "false and malicious at the time they were made and remain wholly false in substance and are defamatory of the Plaintiffs." One such press release issued on July 27, 1999 carried the headline, "Starnet Sued by Las Vegas Casino Inc. for a Billion Dollars." Apparently, no such lawsuit existed at the time and neither Starnet nor its subsidiaries was ever served with notice of any lawsuit from Las Vegas Casino. Starnet claims that as a result of the publication of the defamatory statements, it suffered serious injury to its character, credit and reputation and is seeking damages for loss of business opportunities, loss of market share for its products and services, and loss of market value.
Starnet is claiming aggravated damages as a result of the Defendants' refusal to publish a retraction of the defamatory statements despite having been requested in writing to do so.
Starnet is seeking a court order restraining the Defendants from further writing or posting on the Internet or otherwise publishing defamatory statements.
Starnet is also claiming punitive damages on the basis that:
-- at the time the Defendants published the defamatory statements,
they knew the statements were false;
-- the statements were published maliciously;
-- the Defendants knew and intended that the statements would cause
loss and damage to the Plaintiffs; and
-- the publication of the defamatory statements was a vindictive
attempt to retaliate against the Plaintiffs for Softec's proper
termination of a contract between the Plaintiff Softec and the
Defendant Las Vegas Casino.
Chris Zacharias, Starnet's Corporate Counsel, confirms that the Defendants are continuing to publish defamatory statements about Starnet, its subsidiaries and senior management. As stated by Mr. Zacharias, "we will vigorously prosecute operators who recklessly publish fabrications and misinformation about our companies without any regard for the law. These operators are a menace, not only to our emerging company and industry, but also to the development of the Internet as whole. While traditional media are governed by journalistic standards, such is currently not the case on the Internet. However, the courts have recently extended the traditional principles of defamation law to the Internet, and, we are advised by our outside counsel in this matter that the legal proceedings we have commenced should provide a remedy that will be effective against the Defendants."
Chris Zacharias warned that "all operators of Internet news and message services should hereby be put on notice that Starnet will seek legal remedies against any individual or entity which posts blatantly false defamatory statements that could potentially damage the credibility of our companies."
Starnet is a fully reporting US (Delaware) corporation, which is currently listed on the National Association of Security Dealers ("NASD") Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board and commenced trading in September of 1997 under the symbol "SNMM". Starnet is also listed on the Berlin Stock Exchange ("Berlin") and is publicly traded on Over-The-Counter market under the symbol "SNM".
Starnet is a leading developer and producer of Internet technologies for gaming applications. For more information, please visit www.snmm.com.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements contained herein which are not historical fact are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, certain delays in testing and evaluation of products and other risks detailed from time to time in Starnet's fillings with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
CONTACT: Starnet Communications International Inc.
Mr. Carey Nelson, 604/608-6034
888/883-0833 (North American Toll Free)
800/883-88338 (Outside of North America)
604/684-0391 (fax)
ir@snmm.com (Email)
or
M&A West Inc. (Investor Relations)
Mr. Jack Rosenberg, 650/588-2678
www.mawest.com
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