Afternoon Folks!!
Monte Cahn Files Multi Million Dollar Suit Against Oversee.net, Lawrence Ng, Jeff Kupietsky.
Monte Cahn
This 20 PAGE COMPLAINT and multiple Counts could be a game changer!
10 different Claims of Relief!! Including multiple Breaches of contract.
Moniker was sold to Oversee.net for $35 Million in 2007. The damage claimed in the suit is not specific. I would imagine it would total up to somewhere in the $13M-$20M range with possible punitive damages on top of that.
Rick Schwartz
Update 5-5-2011:
I did not get the release but it seems DNW did. As this is a 'News Story' I will not post my personal opinion of the statement here but I will in a future blog post:
'Predictably, the path Monte Cahn has chosen is needlessly confrontational and provocative. Regrettably, his perceived dispute with Oversee is a result of his own falling short of expectations. This action will do nothing to further his cause and will only result in the needless expense of time and attorneys fees. It is unfortunate that Monte’s actions will impact employees and clients of Moniker, the company he helped found.
Monte’s unfounded claims are well overstated and singularly without merit. We will vigorously defend this action and we look forward to resolving this in court at the earliest possible opportunity.'
Joe
Big news indeed!
Jamie
This should be interesting. I assume some sort of breach of contract?
Tony
The term ‘game changer’ is way overused in this industry.
Jeff Schneider
Hello Rick,
This should be a doozy! I am sure we will hear more about this from Michael Berkens as well.
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)
Jeff Schneider
Hello Rick,
This should be a doozy! I am sure we will hear more about this from Michael Berkens as well.
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)
adam
Not sure what this is about but I’d wager Monte isn’t first in line.
TLD
“The term ‘game changer’ is way overused in this industry.”
+1 on that.
What’s going to change besides potentially his wallet size?
Rick Schwartz
“What’s going to change besides potentially his wallet size?”
I think it will cost Oversee millions before it even gets to court in lost business. Monte is one of the most popular and respected guys in the industry and he went above and beyond for Oversee. I believe this could be the straw that changes perceptions in a”Game Changing” way. But time will tell. I must say when I heard about it I was stunned and I doubt I will be the only one to say that.
Dave
Rick,
Are shocked by that amount Monte was supposed to get in bonuses? $13 million seems pretty nice/high when you compare it to the purchase price of $35.
Bill Roy
Rick,
Saw this on DNF before I hit the saack last night and been wondering about it since.
Monte Cahn is, as you say, a highly respected figure in our domaining world, and this could be (indeed I feel personally that it will be) the major game changer for the Oversee group of companies.
Watching over the past couple of years the ‘disasters’ that have befallen Oversee – Halverez, Chef Patrick, dropping rank in registrar size, and now this public dispute with MC, it is almost like watching domaining world ‘Domino Effect’ take place before our eyes. Each singular event by itself harmed Oversee, but any singular event by itself ‘could have’ been managed and the damage done could have been substantially negated. The problem for Oversee is that they obviously ‘managed’ each event badly, thus after each event their reputation was not only tarnished by the event itself but by the management of the response to that event. The result is that each time their standing declined in the industry more than was neccessary. Each ‘event’ occurring in such short procession of the previous has compounded the damage further, for there has not been enough time to mend the impact of the previous disaster before the next disaster struck (especially the way the responses were managed).
So now we have a situation whereby one of the most respected individuals in the industry has come out and said that Oversee has cheated him, I wonder now how domainers will react to that? I personally think that as soon as this was made public by the issueing of the claim that the ill-feeling many held towards Oversee would have been cemented and what is worse for Oversee is that many of those who even up to this point still gave Oversee the benefit of the doubt will be swayed into putting the company into the ‘distrusted’ bin.
Danny Pryor
Why is Kupietsky still in charge at Oversee, after all these disasters? It seems to suggest, at a glance, that there is some broader mentality at Oversee willing to suffer these”issues”. That is very troubling, indeed.
Jim
Moral of the story…Get it in writing and make sure it’s a binding contract…And in my neck of the woods, it’s three strikes and your out, so only time will tell…
Bill Roy
This is the response from Oversee as reported by Domainnamewire.com.
“Predictably, the path Monte Cahn has chosen is needlessly confrontational and provocative. Regrettably, his perceived dispute with Oversee is a result of his own falling short of expectations. This action will do nothing to further his cause and will only result in the needless expense of time and attorneys fees. It is unfortunate that Monte’s actions will impact employees and clients of Moniker, the company he helped found.
Monte’s unfounded claims are well overstated and singularly without merit. We will vigorously defend this action and we look forward to resolving this in court at the earliest possible opportunity.”
Now considering their history (Oversee’s) why is it I do not put too much faith in the owrds of this statement?
Chris L
Rick,
This is long overdue for Oversee, and not surprisingly, you are spot on target for showcasing it on your blog. Oversee has a demonstrable history of dishonorable actions from loitering in the lobby of competitors shows, to stripmining good companies and then throwing them away, to now short-sticking one of the foundational people in what is now called”the domaining INDUSTRY” – Monte is one of our own, and he has sweat blood to bring domaining into prominence.
People in the industry may not like everything that Monte has worked on, but NO ONE can claim that he didn’t work his ass off to do the best job possible. Would we even HAVE domain auctioning had it not been for the efforts of Monte, Howard, and yourself? This treatment of first Moniker and now Monte is horrendous. Monte deserves respect and support, and at the end of this lawsuit, a win.
Rick Schwartz
“Oversee has a demonstrable history of dishonorable actions from loitering in the lobby of competitors shows,”
Yes, that is the LOWEST PIGON SHIT thing ANY company in this space could do and I will have MORE to say about this next week. They may have saved $10,000 but when you STEAL the hard work Howard and I do, we NEVER forget that. Will take every opportunity to state it. Never even offered to pay. THEFT in my book.
Rick Schwartz
I’ll be exposing one of Jeff K’s LIES in my post next week. Cuz either Jeff is lying or a bunch of the folks HE SENT are lying. Can’t be both!!
Domain Lords
Couple of flaws in the case, all damages over 2 years are barred due to SOL (statute of limitations)
Should be a state tort action, breach of contract, not a fed action, so it may be dismissed under Rule 12b, no fed jurisdiction
You normally need a Fed statute they violated to get Fed jurisdiction
Most fed cases in businesses involve fed stuff like TM, and Patents, etc
Be interesting to follow IF it survives the mandatory Rule 12b motion to dismiss
Seems over done though, lawsuits are best kept to KISS, keep it simple & stupid
Way too much crap in it IMO
pardy hardy
More parties with strippers and oversee will rise like a Phoenix
Mo parties mo parties please oversee