Unique Broadband launches Sun defamation suit
Unique Broadband Systems Inc UBS
Shares issued 87,765,779 Nov 21 close $1.92
Tue 21 Nov 2000 Street Wire
by Brent Mudry
Unique Broadband Systems, its president Alex Dolgonos, and its chief
financial officer Stephen Rosen have filed notice of an intended defamation
suit against The Vancouver Sun and reporter David Baines over an
unflattering Nov. 8 article which focused on heavy insider-linked selling
of shares of Unique Broadband Systems, a leading stock on the Canadian
Venture Exchange.
Besides taking issue with the reporting of insider-related share trading,
Unique Broadband, Mr. Dolgonos and Mr. Rosen are believed to be extremely
upset with the characterizations of their backgrounds and the company's
Russian connections, especially in the aftermath of the YBM International
Magnex scandal.
In an endorsed writ of summons filed Monday in the Supreme Court of British
Columbia, the plaintiffs seek general, aggravated and punitive damages for
"defamatory statements, falsehoods and imputations regarding, and injurious
to, the plaintiffs." Vancouver lawyer Stephen Fitterman of Shapray Cramer &
Associates told Stockwatch he expects to file a detailed statement of claim
within the next few weeks.
The named defendants are The Sun's parent, Southam Inc., and Mr. Baines.
The lawsuit allegations have not yet been proven and no statements of
defence have yet been filed.
The suit was filed the same day The Sun ran a follow-up story clarifying
its original piece, noting that Mr. Dolgonos and his wife, Tina Livchits,
did not breach British Columbia securities rules by not filing advance
notices of private transfers of five million Unique Broadband shares.
In its clarification story, The Sun noted it had relied on misinformation
provided by the British Columbia Securities Commission in the newspaper's
original suggestion that B.C. securities law had been breached as no
notices of intent to sell had been filed.
"Dean Pelkey, media relations officer for the B.C. Securities Commission,
earlier told The Sun there are 'no exemptions' from filing these forms. On
this basis, The Sun incorrectly concluded in a Nov. 8 story in the business
section that Dolgonos and his wife had breached securities rules by not
filing advance notices. Commission officials have since advised there was
no breach in B.C. because both share dispositions occurred outside the
jurisdiction, beyond the purview of B.C. regulators," stated Mr. Baines in
the Monday article.
The next day, Tuesday, Nov. 21, The Sun followed by running a "Setting It
Straight" apology in its front section, on page A2. "A story and headline
published Nov. 8, 2000, erroneously suggested that Alex Dolgonos, the
president of Unique Broadband, had contravened B.C. securities law by
failing to file notice of his intention to transfer shares to an offshore
spousal trust or notice of the trust's subsequent sale of five million
shares. In fact, no advance notice was legally required for either
transaction. We apologize to Mr. Dolgonos for this error," stated The Sun.
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