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Court Rules Bukstel Brothers Attempted to Depress AHT Corporation's Stock Through Yahoo Postings; Preliminary Injunction Vacated.


TARRYTOWN, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 23, 1999--

AHT AHT Animal Health Trust (Suffolk, England)
AHT American Hairless Terrier (dog breed)
AHT After Hours Trading
AHT Animal Health Technician
AHT Anchor Handling Tug
 Corporation (Nasdaq: AHTC AHTC Akademischer Hockey Und Tennis Club ) announced today that in finding "that plaintiffs (Bukstel and Halfpenny, Incorporated and Edward Bukstel and David Bukstel) attempted to depress the stock price of defendant's stock through their postings and used the (preliminary) injunction to attempt to realize a financial settlement," a New York New York, state, United States
New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of
 State Supreme Court Justice for the County of Westchester granted AHT's motion to vacate To annul, set aside, or render void; to surrender possession or occupancy.

The term vacate has two common usages in the law. With respect to real property, to vacate the premises means to give up possession of the property and leave the area totally devoid of contents.
 a preliminary injunction A temporary order made by a court at the request of one party that prevents the other party from pursuing a particular course of conduct until the conclusion of a trial on the merits.

A preliminary injunction is regarded as extraordinary relief.
 that had been previously granted to Bukstel & Halfpenny, Inc. (B&H). The preliminary injunction was related to the lawsuit brought by B&H that seeks the reversal of AHT's 1997 acquisition of B&H's assets, including the Dr. Chart(R) software.

In his ruling, the Honorable James R. Cowhey, wrote, "...this court vacates the preliminary injunction on May 13, 1999 and finds that the plaintiff was guilty of unclean hands unclean hands n. a legal doctrine which is a defense to a complaint, which states that a party who is asking for a judgment cannot have the help of the court if he/she has done anything unethical in relation to the subject of the lawsuit.  in its application for injunctive relief injunctive relief n. a court-ordered act or prohibition against an act or condition which has been requested, and sometimes granted, in a petition to the court for an injunction.  as plaintiff has engaged in conduct of misrepresentation misrepresentation

In law, any false or misleading expression of fact, usually with the intent to deceive or defraud. It most commonly occurs in insurance and real-estate contracts. False advertising may also constitute misrepresentation.
, misstatements and unreliable information substantially related to the issues in the litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute.

When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation.
 which seriously impinged upon deceit, unconscionability and bad faith." The Judge added, "This plaintiff has not been frank and fair with this court and plaintiff failed to put forth all the material facts known to plaintiff to enable this court to give a full and fair determination of the matter in controversy."

Specifically, Judge Cowhey found that B&H's "Chairman and President, Edward Bukstel, and brother as well as fellow officer of plaintiff, David Bukstel, as well as other family members, purchased thousands of shares of defendant's stock. Also during this time (through May 1999) Edward Bukstel and David Bukstel sold shares of defendant's stock at a profit. Thus, plaintiffs' action by its chief corporate officers were in direct contradiction to what plaintiff was claiming in its papers to the court. Plaintiff admitted in testimony that AH(T) stock was `good value' contrary to its claim in its papers."

Additionally, the Judge wrote, "Plaintiff failed to disclose that during the time complained of, commencing on July 6, 1998 through May 1999, plaintiff through Edward Bukstel and David Bukstel in an attempt to benefit plaintiff corporation, posted hundreds of negative messages about AH(T) on Yahoo's message board for AH(T) stock on the Internet, using various pseudonyms This article gives a list of pseudonyms, in various categories. Pseudonyms are similar to, but distinct from, secret identities. Artists, sculptors, architects
  • Balthus (Balthazar Klossowski de Rola)
  • Bramantino (Bartolomeo Suardi)
 and not disclosing their relationship to the company or the lawsuit at issue. Plaintiff admitted in testimony that it was aware that such posting on the message board is an influencing factor that affects the stock price. In such postings, plaintiff encouraged defendant to financially settle this lawsuit without disclosing plaintiffs' interest."

Judge Cowhey determined, "...that plaintiffs' unclean hands in participating in a course of deceptive conduct related to the issue in this case, is a bar to entitlement to the equitable remedy Court-ordered action that directs parties to do or not to do something; such remedies include injunctive relief and Specific Performance. Alternatively, a non-monetary remedy, such as an Injunction  of a preliminary injunction. Accordingly, the preliminary injunction issued by this Court is vacated in all respects."

AHT filed its motion to vacate the preliminary injunction on June 14 of this year based on evidence confirming that Ed Bukstel and David Bukstel, Chairman/President and Secretary, respectively, of B&H, were responsible for more than 300 postings on the Yahoo! Message Board that were said to be abusive, unethical, and fraudulent and that appeared to be designed to pressure AHT into a monetary settlement with respect to B&H's lawsuit. The Bukstel brothers admitted in Court that they made several hundred postings under a number of false identities.

AHT said it intends to continue to defend against the B&H lawsuit, which it believes to be without merit.

AHT Corporation participates in the growing healthcare e-commerce market. The Company provides information technology enabling the electronic management of laboratory and prescription transactions. AHT's goal is to be a leading provider of Internet-based clinical e-commerce among physicians and healthcare organizations. For more information, please visit AHT's website at www.ahtech.com.

This press release contains forward-looking information regarding AHT Corporation. The forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor Safe Harbor

1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated.

2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive.
 provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and  of 1995. Forward-looking statements, including statements as to industry trends, future economic performance, anticipated profitability, anticipated revenues and expenses, and products or service line growth may be significantly impacted by certain risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, failure of the clinical e-commerce industry to develop at anticipated rates, failure of the Company's clinical information technology products and services to gain significant market acceptance, competition and other economic factors. No assurances can be given as to the outcome of any pending lawsuits involving AHT. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the future. Additional risks and uncertainties are described in AHT's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
COPYRIGHT 1999 Business Wire
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 1999, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Publication:Business Wire
Date:Jul 23, 1999
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