I see that the pessimist club is gaining in membership. I joined up when they announced the R/S. They were supposed to be getting PPAs not planning for a R/S. After that I haven't had anything nice to say about Ron.
Seems like I remember Ron said that he had an SEC attorney standing by during the conference call to make sure that he didn't say anything out of bounds. At the time it seemed a little odd but I figured that he was just being cautious. Now I'm thinking that he was being cautious because he was intentionally skirting the law. I think this was on the big conference call last year right after the National Standard announcement.
I would imagine that Ron has been very careful. I'm sure that he's pretty much protected in the vast majority of the things he's said by the rules covering forward looking statements. Plus, his "disclaimer" section in his SEC filings is pretty descriptive and lengthy. He may have covered his A&& pretty well by the specific warnings he gave everyone.
However, it's possible that he may have done something that he could be held liable for. I would imagine that some of the people at the City of San Luis may have bought shares. They are in a much better position than anyone else to take retaliation since they had personal contact with Ron and they would have the city's resources behind them.
My best thought lately for a basis for a lawsuit is his failure to notify investors that National Standard has pulled out. Seems like that's a pretty important detail. Looking for a new bank doesn't seem to me to be proper notification about the situation. Sounds like a lie by omission to me.
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."
Upton Sinclair
