Subj:re: CYAA and KLYS. Richard Surber
ragingbull.altavista.com
By: Francois+Goelo $$$$
Reply To: 24488 by Lester4 Saturday, 29 Jul 2000 at 3:09 AM EDT
Post # of 24490
¶ DEMAND TO RETRACT FALSE STATEMENTS OR BE SUED
BRUCE M. PRITCHETT
Attorney at Law
268 West 400 South, Suite 300
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
801) 575-8073 ext. 107
I am a licensed attorney representing Richard Surber personally, for the limited purpose of pursuing his claims for defamation of character (i.e., libel and slander), and for possible securities fraud, against a number of people (named below) who have posted to this web site.
Mr. Surber has asked me to post the following statement here to protect his interests personally, and also to protect the interests of innocent investors, the value of whose stock may have been adversely affected by the false statements made here.
We are convinced that certain statements, described below, are false and/or misleading. We are further convinced that these false statements have damaged Mr. Surber personally, as well as damaging the price of the stock for all innocent holders of that stock.
We believe that it serves the best interests of all KLYS shareholders to put an end to these false statements in an effort to mitigate the damage that is being caused to the share price by these false statements. Shareholders should seriously consider the possibility that false statements are being made to artificially drive down the price of the stock, to create a bargain (and potential profit for the wrongdoers) which would not exist without the false statements.
Accordingly, we hereby issue a written demand to the persons named here to retract (in writing, on the same web site where the initial statement was made) their false statements within 3 business days or else be sued.
We are completely serious about suing those who do not retract their statements, and we will post copies of the civil complaints here, after they are filed in court.
Our research has indicated that false statements made about stocks on web sites such as this have been successfully prosecuted in the recent past, and we are prepared to follow these precedents in vindicating our position in court.
Our research further indicates that it is quite feasible to discover the real names and addresses of persons using fictitious screen names on this web site and to sue them in court. This we intend to do unless written retractions, on this web site, are issued within
3 business days.
The persons and statements at issue (so far) are as follows:
1. Screenname: toohottohandl8; Date: 24 July 2000 at 8:39 p.m. EDT; False Statement: “Surber . . . pumped and dumped to the tune of $$$millons [sic] of dollars worth of ill-gotten gains. Unless, [sic] you were a part of this scam you would have to be BLIND OR STUPID not to SEE WHAT RICHARD SURBER PULLED OFF. I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT IT WAS NOT LEGAL . . .”
2. Screenname: toohottohandl8; Date: 26 Jul 2000 at 11:24 a.m. EDT; False Statement: “how crooked Richard Surber is . . . What Richard Surber did was no different that [sic]robbing you in an alley or robbing a bank.”
3. Screenname: shadow99; Date: 27 Jul 2000 at 12:58 a.m. EDT; False Statement: “Suber [sic] screwed his strockholders [sic] and laughed all the way to the bank . . .”
4. Screenname: dotrat; Date: 26 Jul 2000 at 4:18 p.m. EDT; False Statement: “Everyone knows who the culprit is. Everyone knows who has our money . . . Now–do we have a
case for a class action law suit? I laugh at the previous reference to O.J. and getting away with murder. If we filed suit we probably wouldn’t see a dime, but couldn’t we make life miserable for O.J. Surber? . . . Let’s watch him squirm.” [Note: this is also, in my opinion, actionable as malicious prosecution/abuse of process, since the clearly stated intent is to make a person squirm, despite the fact the plaintiff “probably wouldn’t see a dime.”]
5. Screenname: chucktheclutch; Date: 26 Jul 2000 at 2:24 p.m. EDT; False Statement: [accusing “people like Surber” of committing a robbery]: “Unarmed robbery is “not” a crime in America. You can get away with anything in this country as long as you don’t physically harm your victim. Then again, that isn’t right either, look at O.J. Simpson.”
6. Screenname: LucifersHammer; Date: 20 Jul 2000 at 4:00 p.m. EDT; False Statement: “Chuck, now you know what it’s like when you try to tell idiots that they made a stupid decision and bought into a scam overhyped pos. It is my opinion that KLYS is run by scam artists because insiders dumped MILLIONS of shares into the hyped up rally.”
Other statements have been made encouraging physical harm against Mr. Surber, for example “toohottohandl8"’s statement that people “should look him [Surber] up and see if he likes baseball(as in your hitting him with a baseball bat – just joking of course.)”
Such statements come perilously close to criminal activity themselves, and even a “just joking” caveat may not be enough to defend against a charge of depraved indifference to the consequences of such a statement, should actual harm be attempted against any corporate officer.
Those who would make such statements act at their peril.
While we hope the above-named persons do in fact retract their statements, we have considered the possibility that fewer than all of the people named above will in fact make such retractions. In such a case, the notice we post today serves two purposes:
First, it will put the targets of our lawsuits on notice of the steps we intend to pursue, so that they cannot later claim ignorance.
Second, it will serve as evidence of the steps we are taking to try to minimize the damage done by those who make false statements about KLYS and its key management personnel in a wrongful effort to drive down the price of KLYS stock. |
