Curis sues Stockhouse user "erinG" after stock drops
Curis Resources Ltd (C:CUV)
Shares Issued 56,307,142
Last Close 6/5/2012
.65
Wednesday June 06 2012 - Street Wire
by Mike Caswell
Curis Resources Ltd. has filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of British Columbia against Stockhouse user "erinG" over posts that the company sees as "defamatory and injuriously false." The posts stated that Curis had been unable to obtain an environmental permit for its flagship Florence copper project in Arizona, and that management had failed to report the rejection. The posts contributed to a drop of as much as 27 per cent in the company's price, according to the suit.
The allegations are contained in a notice of claim that Curis filed at the Vancouver courthouse on Thursday, May 31. In it, the company complains about a series of posts that appeared in May, 2012, which referred to troubles the company was having obtaining a permit from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.
The first post, dated May 7, stated: "Just last week, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality rejected Curis' most recent application for an APP permit. This is their second failed attempt at securing the much needed permit from ADEQ." The company says the post left readers with the false impression that the company had been twice rejected for an aquifer protection permit.
Another post, the following day, told readers that the company's permit application was missing "copious amounts of key information" and that management had failed to fully disclose all the details of the application. The post also said that a mining analyst named Brent Cook had begun "dumping the stock." Similar posts appeared again on May 24, according to the suit.
The company says that the posts were "grossly defamatory" and that it has been "injured in its character, credit and reputation and has suffered loss and damage." The posts were made in a place where the entire world could see them, and in particular in a forum where people who had a financial interest in Curis would read them. Moreover, the posts were entirely false, or made recklessly without regard to whether the information was true or false.
The company also complains that the posts contributed to a 27-per-cent drop in its price. (The stock had fallen to 66 cents on the date of the final post, down from 90 cents the last trading day before the posts began.)
The suit seeks a permanent injunction barring future posts, general and special damages, aggravated damages, punitive damages, and interest and court costs. In addition to the suit, the company has filed an application seeking a court order that will compel Stockhouse to provide information capable of identifying the poster "erinG," including the user's IP address.
Vancouver lawyer Joel Hill of Hakemi & Company filed the suit on the company's behalf.
© 2012 Canjex Publishing Ltd.