NEW YORK, Aug. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Rocker Partners, L.P., through its
attorneys, responded to the lawsuit recently filed in California state court
by Overstock.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: OSTK), which accuses Rocker of conspiring with
Gradient Analytics, Inc., an Arizona-based research firm, and others to
depress the price of Overstock.com stock.
    "In our opinion, Overstock's lawsuit is patently frivolous and is simply
the latest reckless act by Overstock's CEO, Dr. Patrick Byrne," said Lawrence
M. Rolnick, a partner in the Roseland, New Jersey office of Lowenstein Sandler
PC, a law firm representing Rocker.  "We believe that Overstock has made these
fallacious allegations in an attempt to distract the investing public from its
business woes and poor management, which have caused the analyst community to
lose confidence in the stock and persistently lower their earnings estimates,
ratings, and price targets."
    Rocker, along with partners David Rocker and Marc Cohodes and affiliates
Rocker Management, LLC and Rocker Offshore Management Company, Inc., all of
whom have been named as defendants, will defend the lawsuit vigorously.
    Mr. Rolnick added that his clients plan to bring counterclaims for damages
against Overstock.com, co-plaintiff Mary Helburn, and others including Byrne
personally, members of Overstock's board of directors, and others who have
publicly threatened Rocker and Cohodes, including the individual responsible
for Internet postings under the pseudonym Bob O'Brien.  "In our view, this
complaint and Dr. Byrne's accompanying media blitz cross the line and amount
to an outright smear campaign, and, as our investigation continues, we intend
to hold all persons involved responsible under the law for damages, including
any injury to the Rocker defendants' professional reputations," Mr. Rolnick
said.
    Focusing on the role of Overstock's board and Byrne's recent media
appearances touting the filing of the lawsuit against Rocker, Mr. Rolnick
stated that, "We believe that by failing to rein in the erratic behavior of
Overstock's CEO and tacitly endorsing both his frivolous lawsuit and his
increasingly outlandish public attacks on the Rocker parties, the board should
be held accountable for the consequences of Dr. Byrne's actions, and we plan
to make the board answer for its conduct in court."
    According to Mr. Rolnick, "In our opinion, Dr. Byrne's August 12, 2005
webcast to announce the lawsuit and its accompanying slides left little doubt
that his conspiracy theories -- which he claims are masterminded by a 'Sith
Lord' and include a variety of hedge funds (most of which have never traded
Overstock shares), a substantial portion of the financial press, the
Securities and Exchange Commission, Eliot Spitzer, and the Department of
Justice -- are limited only by his imagination.  We understand that the
conspiracy theories were sufficiently incoherent as to prompt a journalist to
inquire of a company spokesman about Byrne's sobriety and mental health."
    Similarly without basis, Mr. Rolnick notes, is the myth that
Overstock.com's stock has been driven down by short sellers.  According to Mr.
Rolnick, "Dr. Byrne alleges an increased focus of short sellers in mid-2003,
at a time when Overstock was selling at or about $10/share and we understand
earnings estimates for 2005 were $.85/share.  Today, two years later, the
estimate for 2005 is a loss of $.35/share, yet the stock is trading at or
about $45/share.  We believe that the allegations of the complaint, like Dr.
Byrne's conspiracy theories, are nothing more than fantasy."
    Mr. Rolnick stated that, "The Rocker parties will not allow this nuisance
suit to detract from their daily efforts on behalf of their partners.  From
our view, we are surprised at Dr. Byrne's and other Overstock directors'
apparent belief that pursuit of a frivolous lawsuit and creation of an
accompanying media circus is an appropriate use of management's time and
corporate assets."

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