Mr. Pink... Making the news again...
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 |
