Caution ...
Abitibi-Consolidated sues Stockhouse posters
2005-02-02 15:19 ET - Street Wire
by Stockwatch Business Reporter
Senior pulp and paper company Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. has joined the handful of companies that have sued for defamation in on-line bulletin boards. The company and one of its mill managers, Derrick Lindgren, are suing two John Does for alleged defamatory posts on Stockhouse discussion forums. The company says the John Does, pretending to be Mr. Lindgren in some posts and Abitibi president John Weaver in others, implied that Abitibi's mill in Kenora, Ont., is improperly run.
The DLindgren posts
Abitibi, in its 20-page claim, says the first of the John Does (referred to as John Doe No. 1) logged into Stockhouse on Nov. 26, 2004, and created a profile purportedly belonging to Derrick Lindgren, manager of the company's Kenora paper mill.
The profile for the first account, which used the alias DLindgren, read, "I am a junior investor but really I am more worried about my job lately as I have been running the mill I have been managing into the ground and maybe John Weaver will get upset and fire me."
One week after creating the profile, Abitibi says John Doe put the DLindgren account to use. On Dec. 1, 2004, DLindgren allegedly wrote: "I know now that it was a big mistake to hire the frenchman Jean D as production manager ... I believed in him so much but he is useless." Montreal-based Abitibi says the defamed "Jean D" is Jean Descoteaux, production manager at the Kenora mill.
After berating Mr. Descoteaux, the poster alluded to some sort of sexually inappropriate conduct at the mill. "Maybe it doesn't matter anyway because the investigator [sic] into Carolyn sex charges will put me and others in jail anyway," the anonymous poster stated, using his DLindgren alias. (The company's claim does not specify what sort of "sex charges" John Doe was referring to.)
The poster, still masquerading as Mr. Lindgren, then put together the "10 top reasons why thor should fire me" in a Dec. 12, 2004, post. (Abitibi says "thor" refers to Thor Thorsteinson, the senior vice-president of North American operations.) The list read:
"10 I looked funny at the christmas party
"9 I hired nell harvy as paper mill superintendent
"8 douglas is my good friend
"7 I do not know what budget means
"6 everybody hates me here and I hate everybody
"5 jean will sink me here as a witness for carolyn
"4 brian will sink me here as a witness for carolyn
"3 lori will sink me here as a witness for carolyn
"2a production sucks
"2b quality sucks
"2c production sucks
"and the number one top reason why thor should fire me ...
"1 lisa is fat and looked funny at the christmas party."
Abitibi says "lisa" in the post is Mr. Lindgren's wife, and the others identified in the post are all management level employees at the Kenora mill.
The PaperGod posts
The second half of Abitibi's claim deals with posts allegedly made by John Doe No. 2, masquerading as company president Mr. Weaver. Abitibi says John Doe No. 2 adopted the alias PaperGod, which he explained in a Dec. 23, 2004, post. "Paper God is the name I have been given by my collegues [sic]. It is fitting. I am John Weaver," said John Doe No. 2.
Using his PaperGod alias, John Doe No. 2 also proceeded to defame Mr. Lindgren.
He did this by posting a purported resignation letter written by Mr. Lindgren to Mr. Weaver. (Contrary to what the on-line detractor would have people believe, Mr. Lindgren has not resigned and remains the manager of the mill.) In the letter John Doe No. 2 says Mr. Lindgren did a very poor job of running the mill.
"I am very sorry I let you down and that the Kenora operation is running so poorly," wrote John Doe No. 2. "The poor operation of the mill is a direct result of my top management team and I but in no way should be blamed on the superintendent and lower level," continued the concocted letter.
The letter also mentions other possible employee troubles. "John I am sending this resignation letter (e-mail) from my hotmail account as I cannot trust the network at the mill as it is managed by men not loyal to me," stated the letter.
Abitibi, in conclusion to its claim, asks for a court order restraining the John Does from any additional postings, plus damages and costs.
Stockhouse forums
Stockhouse has removed the posts identified in Abitibi's suit, as it normally does in cases such as this. The courts have, in the past, looked down upon libellous material found in on-line postings.
In a case decided on Jan. 29, 2004, Justice C.A. Kent awarded oil and gas producer Vaquero Energy Ltd. and its president, Robert Waldner, $75,000 in damages over defamatory Stockhouse posts.
In another prior case, Justice G. Peter Fraser ordered Stockhouse and another Internet forum, Raging Bull, to temporarily remove offending posts about Vancouver-based clipclop.com Enterprises Inc.
More recently, Vancouver-based junior miner Farallon Resources Ltd. filed a libel suit for posts relating to the company's Campo Morado property in Mexico. That case has yet to be decided.
The Kenora mill
Abitibi recently identified the Kenora mill, along with three other higher-cost operations, as part of the company's plan to achieve $175-million in "cost, productivity and sales mix improvements."
In 2001 the company cut part of the mill's capacity and laid off 147 workers. At the time Mr. Weaver said the mill was "high-cost, excess newsprint capacity."
More recently, Abitibi has been heavily affected by the rising Canadian dollar. The company recently posted a $36-million year-end loss, which included an estimated $188-million effect caused by the dollar's rise.
The company closed today at $6.96, down from a 52-week high of $10.37.
