Rocker Partners settles with Overstock for $5M

[lessthaniv]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Rocker-Pays-5-Million-to-prnews-3555312432.html?x=0&.v=1

 

 

[lessthaniv]

Judd Bagley put together a short video explaining the history of this lawsuit:

 

 

 

[StubbleJumper]

So Byrne rolled over.  I wonder whether he spent more than $5m on legal fees or less.  Good chance he lost money on this one.

 

Wonder what Prem has spent.

 

SJ

[lessthaniv]

I hardly think Byrne "rolled over". Every other CEO who didn't do anything - rolled over. But Byrne? He hasn't done any such thing.

 

We'll see what happens in the broker's lawsuit. Trial is expected in about a years time.

 

<IV

[valuecfa]

I would hardly call him rolling over.

 

Byrne has put up a very admirable fight, upon receiving harsh criticism the entire time. The easy thing for him to do all along was give up. Yet he chose to fight back.

 

He is definitely on my most admirable top 10 list.

[twacowfca]

Keep an eye on this.  This could be a "good cop, bad cop" Prisoner's Dilemma situation.

The first canary to sing gets a free get-out-of-jail card. :)

[oldye]

I think Patrick is hinting he might start looking for a replacement

[Parsad]

So Byrne rolled over.  I wonder whether he spent more than $5m on legal fees or less.  Good chance he lost money on this one.

 

Byrne didn't roll over.  His entire effort was just to be proven right and for the miscreants to admit they did unethical acts.  This was never about money for him.

 

Wonder what Prem has spent.

 

Well, you don't have to worry here.  Prem also is doing this solely to prove that there was a coordinated attack against Fairfax.  But Prem isn't going to let this happen again...the delisting from the NYSE should have told people that...Fairfax has the resources to litigate this until these guys pay through the nose and they will!  Cheers! 

 

 

[StubbleJumper]

Looks like I'm in the minority, but I'm completely comfortable there.  I would respectfully suggest that Byrne has proven very little by getting these guys to settle out of court.  There has been no "guilty" judgement, just an attempt by Rocker to terminate an expensive legal process that likely distracts them from their business and harms their reputation.  The settlement means roughly nothing, as people settle out of court on a regular basis just to keep from blowing ridiculous amounts of money on legal fees (even if you are not guilty, sometimes it can be quite rational to settle out of court to make something go away....call it "protection money"). 

 

My interpretation of a $5m settlement is that Byrne didn't think he would be able to win the big prize at the big show.  Principles be damned, he rolled over.

 

Let us hope that the FFH lawsuit is built on a stronger foundation....and that the defendants will still have some money left on judgement day.

 

 

SJ

 

 

[ubuy2wron]

Looks like I'm in the minority, but I'm completely comfortable there.  I would respectfully suggest that Byrne has proven very little by getting these guys to settle out of court.  There has been no "guilty" judgement, just an attempt by Rocker to terminate an expensive legal process that likely distracts them from their business and harms their reputation.  The settlement means roughly nothing, as people settle out of court on a regular basis just to keep from blowing ridiculous amounts of money on legal fees (even if you are not guilty, sometimes it can be quite rational to settle out of court to make something go away....call it "protection money"). 

 

My interpretation of a $5m settlement is that Byrne didn't think he would be able to win the big prize at the big show.  Principles be damned, he rolled over.

 

Let us hope that the FFH lawsuit is built on a stronger foundation....and that the defendants will still have some money left on judgement day.

 

 

SJ To suggest that Mr Byrne rolled over is disingenuous. As I am sure many are aware he has a much tougher fight and lawsuit against the prime brokers which in my opinion have been complicit re the naked short sale issue. I also suspect that Prem will be less likely to settle ,Copper River was basically a failed hedge fund, SAC et al still have a little money left.

  These guys started out with manipulating tiny little speculative companies and kept moving up the food chain as their ill gotten wealth and influence grew, in the end they helped take down the largest firms on wall street and I think they are setting their sights on sovereign nations next.