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Pastimes : Investment Chat Board Lawsuits -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: StockDung who wrote (882)	10/26/2000 10:33:43 AM
From: dantecristo	Respond to of 12465

Congratulations, Floyd, et al! Glad to see we are turning the tides a little bit on these frivolous SLAPPs. I can certainly relate to this: "George Joakimidis stated: "I am relieved that it is all over. It is perhaps unfortunate that the cases did not go to trial, where I would have been given the opportunity to prove that everything I posted on the various message boards was true."

To: StockDung who wrote (882)	10/26/2000 10:35:24 AM
From: ima_posta2	Respond to of 12465

CONGRATULATIONS! CONGRATULATIONS! and CONGRATULATIONS! It makes me proud to know that there are people who will fight for the truth and the right of everyone to speak it! CONGRATULATIONS!

To: StockDung who wrote (882)	10/26/2000 11:09:33 AM
From: Jeffrey S. Mitchell	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12465

Floyd, George, Mike, Stephen, congratulations! Another sterling example that these SLAPP suits aren't about using the court system to find the truth, but rather to shut those up that seek to arrive at the truth via exercising their First Amendment right of free speech in a public forum. I'm especially happy to see that Ziasun was compelled to fork over $60,000. If I were a Ziasun shareholder it would really make me angry to see how much shareholder money Ziasun squandered on lawyers fees and settlement money, and how much valuable time they wasted on matters that not only had nothing to do with enhancing shareholder value but apparently tanked the share price as well. The legal battle for the defendants may be over, but given what I've read about the business practices of Ziasun, one would think the legal woes of the plaintiffs would be just beginning. - Jeff

To: StockDung who wrote (882)	10/26/2000 5:55:45 PM
From: John Sladek	Respond to of 12465

Congratulations to you all. Regards, John Sladek

To: StockDung who wrote (882)	10/27/2000 5:59:36 AM
From: EL KABONG!!!	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12465

interactive.wsj.com October 27, 2000 Settlements Reached in Suits Involving Stock-Chat Rooms By a WALL STREET JOURNAL Staff Reporter LOS ANGELES -- Two related, high-profile lawsuits involving Internet stock-chat criticism have been settled with both sides claiming victory. One suit was filed in San Francisco federal court by ZiaSun Technologies Inc. against a group of Internet stock-message board critics. The Internet company alleged in its suit that its online critics had engaged in a "cybersmear campaign." A related suit against the same individuals was filed by Bryant Cragun, former ZiaSun chief executive, in a California state court in San Diego. The two suits attracted attention early this year when ZiaSun, Solana Beach, Calif., and Mr. Cragun obtained federal and state court orders restricting the ability of one of the defendants, a Rochelle Park, N.J., mortgage banker named Floyd Schneider, to post messages about them. The plaintiffs said these were the first such orders in the nation against an Internet stock poster. Additionally, Mr. Schneider was ordered to retract some previously posted statements that he had made about ZiaSun and Mr. Cragun. Mr. Schneider complied but in subsequent interviews said he believed all his statements had been accurate. ZiaSun and Mr. Cragun also were prominent figures in a recent front-page Wall Street Journal story concerning an overseas stock-selling network that marketed shares in small U.S. companies to foreign investors. Mr. Cragun was chairman of one of the firms involved in the selling network. Under the settlement of the two lawsuits, Mr. Schneider and three other defendants agreed to stop posting any messages about ZiaSun, Mr. Cragun and a number of related individuals and companies. Each side agreed to pay its own legal costs. Mr. Cragun paid one of the defendants $60,000 to satisfy a claim against another one of the firms in the overseas selling network. In a statement, Mr. Cragun said he made the payment simply to help settle the overall dispute and that he will seek to recover that money from the firm in court.