UNICO INCORPORATED (AZ) (fka UNCO)

[loadedgun]

Unico's lawsuit isn't as bad as this one

Overstock.com Announces Lawsuit Against Prime Brokers
Seeks $3.48 Billion in Damages
SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Overstock.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: OSTK) announced today that it has filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco against Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, Goldman Sachs & Co., Bear Stearns Companies, Inc., Bank of America Securities LLC, Bank of New York, Citigroup Inc., Credit Suisse (USA) Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., UBS Financial Services, Inc., and others. Certain shareholders of the company have joined Overstock.com in the suit.

The suit alleges that the defendants, who control over 80% of the prime brokerage market, participated in a massive, illegal stock market manipulation scheme and that the defendants had no intention of covering such orders with borrowed stock, as they are required to do, causing what are referred to as 'fails to deliver.' The suit also alleges that the defendants' actions caused and continue to cause dramatic distortions with regard to the nature and amount of trading in the company's stock which have caused the share price of the company's stock to dramatically drop. The suit asserts that a persistent large number of 'fails to deliver' creates large downward pressure on the price of a company's stock and that the amount of 'fails to deliver' has exceeded the company's entire supply of outstanding shares.

The suit accuses the defendants of violations of California securities laws and common law, and California's Unfair Business Practices Act. The company is seeking damages of $3.48 billion.

'I have a fiduciary duty to defend the company. These manipulative activities have caused tremendous damage to Overstock,' said Patrick Byrne, chairman and chief executive officer of Overstock.com. 'I believe that this conduct is harming our company and our shareholders deeply, and that investors have been failed by those who have a duty protect them. The best way to address and solve the problem is to get it in front of a jury of 12 Californians.'

About Overstock.com

Overstock.com, Inc. is an online 'closeout' retailer offering discount, brand-name merchandise for sale over the Internet. The company offers its customers an opportunity to shop for bargains conveniently, while offering its suppliers an alternative inventory liquidation distribution channel. Overstock.com, headquartered in Salt Lake City, is a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ Global Market System and can be found online at http://www.overstock.com.