Can you trust the Stocklemon? Part 2

Can StockLemon be trusted? To those who ‘invest’ in the stocks the website bashes, the answer is no. But I see no reason why Andrew Left’s writings should be ignored. If his critics are correct, then he lies repeatedly and blatantly. Yet no one has ever won a libel or defamation suit against him. He has been sued for libel three times (to my knowledge). He has won twice, while one is still ongoing.

He won the first case, filed by GTX Global Corp, in a preliminary hearing, because the plaintiff did not have enough evidence to warrant it proceeding to full trial. I should mention that GTX Global (now trading as VSTC.PK) is now worthless, so Andrew Left was right about the company being a ‘phantom company‘.

The second case was filed by CEO of iMergent (IIG), Don Danks. Because the information on this suit was not freely available online, I looked it up on the L.A. Superior Court’s website. This case was dismissed (Andrew Left won). I found the following documents:
1. Andrew Left’s initial response to the lawsuit
2. Case against StockLemon.com dismissed
3. Case against Left dismissed due to default of plaintiff
4. Minute order describing dismissal
5. Outline of case history

I probably could have gotten more and better documents, but I had to pay a per-document fee to download those documents. I should note that since Stocklemon first panned iMergent on February 24, 2005, the stock has gone nowhere overall (it was around $20 per share then and is around there now), although it did drop below $4 in October 2005 and only traded above $30 briefly. So in other words, though StockLemon was wrong about iMergent, it still would have been a profitable and easy short.

There is currently pending a libel lawsuit by Smart-Tek Solutions Inc against Andrew Left (of StockLemon). The case is ongoing and an outline of the proceedings of the case can be found online (the case number is 06-A-521546-C). Ignoring the question of whether Left was libelous, he certainly was right: anyone who invested in Smart-Tek on April 5th, 2006 the day after he panned the company would have lost at least 75% of their investment.

I should also point out that while YP Corp did not sue Andrew Left, it did threaten him. Of course, it looks like he turned out to be right with regards to YP as well. An individual who had invested in YP back when StockLemon pilloried it would have lost over 75% of his or her investment.

Oh, and regarding Andrew Left’s favorite company, (*cough*) HSOA, you can find an impartial (if old) report on it at SmartMoney.

Disclosure: I am not long or short any of the companies mentioned above. I have no connection with StockLemon or Andrew Left (although I have previously gotten some profitable short ideas from his website). See my disclosure policy.

0 thoughts on “Can you trust the Stocklemon? Part 2”

  1. WITHIN THE LAST TWO MONTHS RECENT UNPRECENDENTED COURT RULINGS THAT POSE A LARGE THREAT TO PEOPLE LIKE ANDREW LEFT, HAVE COME ABOUT.

    one of the rulings is:
    “COURTS MAY NOW RULE AN EXPRESSION OF AN OPINION AS AN INSERTION OF OBJECTIVE FACT. THUS A FALSE STATEMENT OR FACT WHETHER EXPRESSLY STATED OR IMPLIED FROM AN EXPRESSION OF OPINION IS ACTIONABLE”
    -meaning that if I say that i think a company is commiting fraud, even if it is only my opininon- it can be ruled defamation, slander etc.

    In mr. left other court cases “expressed opinions or implications were not actionable-NOW they are.

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