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Worth a repost! More bashers going to jail

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More bashers off to jail??


jerrio785
6/14/2011 4:26:49 PM | | 307 reads | Post #29854640
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Farallon identifies Stockhouse poster "chugwater"

2011-06-13 14:34 ET - Street Wire


by Mike Caswell
FarallonMining Ltd., the Vancouver miner that is now owned by Nyrstar NV, hasidentified two Arizona residents as the people who used the alias"chugwater" to post defamatory statements about the company onStockhouse. Farallon says that Tim Watt and Susan Gleason, both ofScottsdale, wrote messages that accused it of stealing its Campo Moradoproperty in Mexico.
The "chugwater" case began when the companyfiled a lawsuit against a Jane Doe and John Doe in the Supreme Court ofBritish Columbia. It said they posted a series of statements onStockhouse in 2009 and 2010 in which they compared the company'sacquisition of Campo Morado with Nazi art thefts, among other things.Earlier this year Farallon sought and won court orders that allowed itto identify the pair. It revealed their names in a motion filed onWednesday, June 8, in which it is seeking permission to change thedefendants in its original lawsuit to Mr. Watt and Ms. Gleason.
Assumingthe judge grants the company permission to modify the suit, the casewill represent the fourth that Farallon has launched against Stockhouseposters who accused the company of stealing Campo Morado. Prior suitsnamed Australian poker player David St. Eloi, who denies the allegationsand is fighting the case. Another suit was against Edmonton residentRobert Butler. On April 12, 2010, Farallon and its management won a$425,000 summary judgement against him (which it is still trying tocollect). The final case is against another Edmonton man, Ronald Arnold.He initially denied any wrongdoing, but has since agreed to payFarallon damages in an amount to be assessed by a judge.
Farallon's "chugwater" claim
Farallonfiled a notice of claim against "chugwater" on Oct. 21, 2010, at theVancouver courthouse. It complained that a number of posts appearedunder the alias on Stockhouse's forums between February, 2009, andOctober, 2010, that accused the company of fraud and bribery. The postssaid that the company would never have good title to the Campo Moradoproperty.
The suit quoted a number of the messages, the last ofwhich appeared on Oct. 13, 2010. It stated that Farallon acquired theCampo Morado property in a manner that prevented the property's originalowner, David Hermiston, from receiving any compensation. The companydid so with the help of Mr. Hermiston's own lawyer, Pedro Villagran, thepost stated. "Hermiston toured Farallon representatives on the propertyand negotiated with them. Then, Farallon made a deal with Hermiston'sattorney and through breaches of fiduciary relationships and forgeddocuments was given title to Campo Morado," the post read. Mr. Villagranreceived millions of dollars and a seat on Farallon's board, while Mr.Hermiston received "not one dime of CONSIDERATION," the post continued.
Anotherpost, the same day, explained that the Mexican courts found that "CampoMorado was acquired through illegal acts." The only reason that Mr.Hermiston was unable to receive any damages was that he did not sueuntil after the limitation period had expired, the message read. AsFarallon sees it, the post meant that the company had stolen CampoMorado and that it did not have good title to the property.
Farallonalso complained about a post that said "truth and justice will prevail"and some other jurisdiction will require the company to return theproperty to Mr. Hermiston. That message, dated Oct. 14, 2010, alsostated, "Farallon and all who participate financially with Farallonenjoying their spoils should be looking over their shoulders, just asthose who obtained stolen art works from the Nazi regime have looked andcontinued to look, because they will never have good title, not in athousand years."
Yet another post, dated Feb. 14, 2009, accusedthe company of criminal conduct, according to the suit. It read: "Towrap things up, criminal charges are expected. Hunter and Jennings havedied and will therefore have saved themselves from criminal penalties,but others survive who were involved in the theft of Campo Morado andits cover up."
Farallon said that post and others meant that ithad engaged in theft and had mistreated Mr. Hermiston. Each post wasfalse and grossly defamatory of the company, according to the suit. Thecompany also claimed that the posts were written with malice and thatthe author intended to harm the company's reputation.
The suitsought damages for libel, punitive damages, a permanent injunctionpreventing future posts, as well as interest and court costs. Joel Hillof Vancouver law firm Hakemi & Company filed the claim on Farallon'sbehalf.
Mr. Watt and Ms. Gleason, who are not yet defendants, have not responded to the suit.