Not going to comment on this specific case (however in general my sympathy is with the shareholders), but unless there are a few generous millionaires out there maybe Hotcopper should be looking for a plan b.
Maybe a new law that a company can only sue it shareholders after an EGM and a three quarters vote in favour of the action or hotcopper taking its servers and most of its operation offshore.
Shouldn’t the politicians be sorting this kind of thing out? What happened to the shareholder democracy idea?
Korab Resources (KOR) chief threatens to sue HotCopper
Lawyers for Korab Resources have threatened to launch legal action against HotCopper over a report which HotCopper sent to its members about the legal action involving the gold explorer's executive chairman, Andrej Karpinski.
The letter, from Perth lawyer Martin Bennett to HotCopper Managing Director Greg D'Arcy, says that Mr Karpinksi "will be lodging an official complaint against HotCopper with ASIC".
It also states that Korab is considering taking HotCopper to the WA Supreme Court "for misleading and deceptive conduct".
The HotCopper report centred on legal action being taken by Mr Karpinski against investors, who held shares in Korab.
Mr Karpinski is demanding the investors pay him damages for defamation he suffered as a result of criticism they posted about him on HotCopper. In his letter to HotCopper, Mr Bennett says Mr Karpinski is not making any demands but states that "Mr Karpinski, in accordance with his legal rights to vindicate his reputation, seeks compensation as well as money to pay his legal fees".
Mr Karpinski also claims that the investors defamed him in a letter they wrote about him and sent to Korab shareholders in October last year. And he claims that the investors defamed him by publishing letters to the ASX and ASIC about Korab's activities. He claims another investor defamed him in emails again earlier this year.
The issue dates back to 2010, when Korab announced plans to distribute shares it held in two companies, Melrose Gold Mines and Lugansk Gold, to Korab shareholders.
But the distributions of the shares never happened, with Korab announcing last year that the move was contingent on Melrose and Lugansk being listed on the ASX.
The decision has infuriated some investors, who claim Korab never said the distributions were contingent on the ASX listings.
In his letter to HotCopper, Mr Bennett says that the investors being sued by Mr Karpinski "have not been shareholders of Korab for many years". "Nor were they shareholders at the time of publishing the defamatory publications," the letter states.
In a report in The Australian newspaper last week, Mr Karpinksi defended his move to sue the investors, claiming they had not been Korab shareholders for about three years and he would never sue existing shareholders.
"I treat shareholders as my employers," Mr Karpinski was reported as saying. "It wouldn't cross my mind to do anything against their interests."
However, when contacted by HotCopper, one of those being sued by Mr Karpinski confirmed that she had been a Korab shareholder since before the share distribution issue was first raised. She said she had remained a shareholder throughout the dispute and still held her Korab shares.
Mr D'Arcy also said HotCopper believed it was important that its members were aware of legal threats and actions issued against fellow members. "This is important and relevant information for all HotCopper members," he said. "It also serves to remind members of their legal obligations as members of HotCopper."
Mr D'Arcy urged members to contribute to The HotCopper Fighting Fund which would be used to help meet the legal bills of those members being pursued by Mr Karpinksi.
To donate to the HotCopper Fighting Fund click here
He said HotCopper would defend any legal actions issued against it by Korab and Mr Karpinski.
SRZ Price at posting:
5.0¢ Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Not Held
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