Wenigstens sind wir uns darüber einig, dass dies ein Info-Thread ist. Dann kannst Du ja nicht viel dagegen haben, wenn ich Dich korrigiere, falls Du versehentlich eine Fehlinformation posten solltest oder mal wieder übersehen hast, wenn RSM eine neue Hammernews gebracht hat. So wie eben:
Royal Standard thinks hecklers supporting dissidents
2006-11-01 15:13 ET - Street Wire
by Stockwatch Business Reporter
Public relations man Luke Norman is in the news again for speaking his mind. Royal Standard Minerals Inc. believes that Mr. Norman and Timothy Master are supporting a dissident shareholder rebellion. In a statement of claim, the company said the two have been badmouthing management in unseemly fashion. Mr. Norman has denied the allegation but says that, in any case, as a shareholder he has a right to speak his mind.
Mr. Norman was also in the news for speaking his mind at a Vancouver party on Jan. 9, 2005. He and friends were celebrating -- drunkenly, apparently -- his survival of the great Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami, which killed 229,000 people. Later that night, police arrested Mr. Norman for failing to produce identification. First though, a report about the squabble at Royal Standard.
The claim
On Sept. 22, 2006, Royal Standard Minerals named Mr. Norman and Mr. Master as defendants in a statement of claim. The plaintiff, which holds several gold and copper projects, said the two men were once its senior employees. Mr. Norman was a public relations manager and Mr. Master was an exploration geologist. According to Royal Standard, Mr. Master resigned in May, 2006, and Mr. Norman got the boot in August, 2006. Although the court document did not provide any details about the termination, it did emphasize that there was considerable enmity between the defendants and management. Thus, Royal Standard said that Mr. Norman and Mr. Master conspired to injure the business.
According to the plaintiff, Mr. Norman and Mr. Master disseminated misleading information and threatened management. They also allegedly contacted shareholders without permission and solicited their support. The one example Royal Standard offers is an occasion in November, 2005. Without giving any clue about the comments, Royal Standard claimed that Mr. Norman "maliciously spoke words concerning the company." The plaintiff said the words, which Mr. Norman often repeated, were defamatory. Thus, the conspiracy effectively reduced the market value of the company and damaged its reputation. Royal Standard said in September that one possible objective of the conspiracy was to trigger a proxy battle.
In its claim, Royal Standard asked the court for an injunction restraining the two from badmouthing management any further. The plaintiff also sought damages for defamation and breach of fiduciary duty.
The defence
On Oct. 17, 2006, Mr. Norman filed a statement of defence. In it he denied making any defamatory statements against Royal Standard or its management. He also denied acting in any way that would injure the company, citing the fact that he himself is a shareholder. Mr. Norman similarly denied attempting to trigger a proxy battle. He noted that he is not even on the dissident slate of directors.
As a second line of defence, Mr. Norman said that he was simply never an employee of Royal Standard. He claimed that he was an independent consultant who performed contract work for the company. As such, there was never an employment agreement forbidding him from doing anything. Mr. Norman stated that, as a shareholder of Royal Standard, he had the right to make comments about its management.
Mr. Norman wraps up his statement of defence by denying that he defamed or slandered Royal Standard.
Adam Brosgall of the law firm Palkowski & Co. filed the statement of claim for Royal Standard in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Nick Kambas of Kambas Galbraith, Barristers & Solicitors, filed the statement of defence for Mr. Norman. As of Oct. 27, Mr. Master had not yet filed a statement of defence. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
In response to a recent petition from dissident shareholders, Royal Standard has called a meeting for May 29, 2007.
Speaking out
As readers of The Vancouver Sun might recall, Mr. Norman, then a junior employee of Canaccord Investment Corp. was featured in a Jan. 11, 2005, tsunami story. After surviving the tsunami in Thailand, he attended a "thank God we\'re alive" party at his West End apartment building. Late that night, police received several complaints about snowballs flying off the 12th-floor balcony. Two officers went to investigate the source of the snowballs, which is how they met Mr. Norman. According to him, as he told The Sun, he was merely picking up a can of beer lying on the floor in the apartment hallway when the police arrived. Rather than crediting him with tidying up, he says they accused him of having an open vessel of alcohol in a public place. When he was unable to produce identification, they allegedly slammed his head against a wall, knocked him to the ground, kicked him, handcuffed him and took him off to the hoosgow for the night. According to constable Anne Drennan, police found Mr. Norman "intoxicated, belligerent and aggressive." Police released him the next morning and did not charge him with any offence.
Speaking one\'s mind can have its problems.
