ALL:
What a thread. This is better than fiction any day.
I think sounds of silence from UMSI have got us all a little on edge, and rightfully so. What amazes me so is the mounting public bald face "misrepresentations" made by the UMSI group. If this stock does not recover back to September or so levels relatively soon, I think UMSI may be in legal trouble. As I have mentioned on this thread before, they have a fiduciary duty to the shareholders which includes both the disclosure of good news as well as bad, and there isn't any room in there for out and out lies. Their past news dissemenation has inspired most of us to keep buying stock as the price went from over 2.00 to close to nothing. These promises of financials are almost beyond belief. And correct me if I am wrong, but I didn't hear too much news on the stock dilution (from 11 mil to 26 mil between January and December).
As Gene has surmised, I am no SEC attorney. I do trial work. That may be more useful in the long run. The issues here are not so complex that it would take an expert in SEC law to sort them out. Most of these class actions shareholder derivative actions are based on misrepresentations by the officers and board, that if the truth be known, the average joe would not have invested, or would have sold earlier. It is hard for me to say that we are at that point yet.
It is important to note how devestating such an action could be to a company the size of UMSI. There is no question we would all be better off if the stock price recovered to summer 1997 levels compared to what we might recover through legal action. Gary's senario is on target. There is no question litigation should be a last resort.
Most of you that have had anything to do with attorneys know that getting them involved is a double-edged sword. We can threaten with real legal tools which can be intimidating. It can also put up walls very quickly, and we may never get any information out of these guys again (under even whishpers of the threat of litigation, UMSI may be advised to make no more statements). That is why, up to this point, I have been reluctant to offer my services to this group. We have been getting some information from UMSI, even though it doesn't appear to be very good information.
Be that as it may, at this point, I would be glad to lend my letterhead to the cause and to write a letter or letters to the folks UMSI on behalf of anyone who would like to join. If anyone would like to advantage of this pro bono representation, e-mail me.
Happy New Year
Skaar
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