Online Critic Says He'll Apologize To Public Company Suing Him
William P. Barrett , FORBES CONTRIBUTOR
Declaring he can't afford to defend the case, a Delaware construction worker said today he will apologize to a publicly traded company that sued him for defamation over unflattering comments he anonymously posted on an anything-goes financial message board.
The man, Ottavio Calvarese of New Castle, Del., said the apology will settle without a cash payment a defamation lawsuit that tiny Lecere Corp. of Portland, Ore., filed against him after he put withering remarks about the firm on InvestorsHub, also known as iHub.
But in a telephone interview this morning with Forbes, Calvarese made it clear he was acting only because he lacked the money to litigate the case and not because he couldn't defend himself on the merits. "If I could fight it, I would," he said. "But I don't have $5,000 to spend on a lawyer. "
Telephone and email messages seeking comment from Lecere Corp. and its Delaware lawyer, Benjamin A. Schwartz, were not returned.
A year ago, we wrote about an earlier defamation lawsuit filed by Lecere, which says it develops specialty software apps for restaurants, against seven anonymous critics. The complaint, filed in federal court in Portland, Ore., where Lecere is based, said the seven--dubbed John Does 1 to 7--posted extremely unflattering comments about the company and its CEO, James B. Morris, on InvestorsHub. That's one of several financial websites allowing venting about specific stocks and which is a wholly owned subsidiary of London Stock Exchange-traded ADVFN PLC. Among other things, the postings--recounted in the lawsuit--called Morris "scum", a "turd" and a "clown," while questioning his ethics and propriety.
Lecere (pronounced le-SEER) said the commentary was hurting it and harming chances to find new investors. The lawsuit sought $2 million in damages and a court order shutting up the Does--whether or not what they said in the future was true or false. This obviously raised freedom-of-speech concerns, especially since much of the complained-about commentary appeared to be more rhetorical and opinion rather than alleged facts.
Calvarese acknowledged he was John Doe No. 3. He says that after learning his identity--"I stupidly responded to an email from Lecere," he says--Lecere and Morris sued him alone by name in Delaware's Court of Chancery, dismissing the Oregon suit. The Delaware action sought a gag order against Calvarese for future comments "of a defamatory nature"--that is, false and harmful, not true and merely negative, possibly avoiding First Amendment issues--but dropped any claim for money damages other than court costs. (Neither lawsuit named Investors Hub or its owner as a defendant.)
According to the second Lecere complaint, Calvarese's postings, under the screen handle "tavycal", included these comments:
--[color=red]"scuMorris lied from day one. Nothing was going to save this ship. He used LCRE [the company's stock symbol] as his personal ATM."[/color]
--"Jim never had any intention of doing anything except rape investors."
--"A CEO who hasn't a clue about how to run a business. A man who diluted his stock into oblivia, shanked all the shareholders ... This man is the KING of thieves and a worthless, gutless CEO."
The lawsuit calls these and other comments "false and libelous."
Lecere's petition specifically alleges that Calvarese was involved in a scheme with Investors Hub either to sink the price for short-sellers or to aid Lecere's competitors. Calvarese, who said he never has owned Lecere stock, called those claims false and preposterous. "I'm just a regular guy," he said, saying that he operates heavy equipment at construction sites. "I don't know any of these people. I acted on my own."
Calvarese called his posting part of a "hobby" he started eight years ago after getting burned by an investment in a company he called a pump-and-dump. He said he often puts up what he calls "warnings" about stocks he considers overvalued or less than they appear.
