Investment Manager ICP Sues Kasowitz Law Firm, Fairfax Financial in Connection With Campaign of Harassment and Intimidation Agai

NEW YORK, Nov. 20  /PRNewswire/ -- Institutional Credit Partners, ("ICP"), a New York-based investment management company, filed a counter-suit on Friday in New Jersey State court, charging that Fairfax Financial Holdings, Ltd. ("Fairfax" NYSE: FFH), a Canadian Insurer, and Kasowitz, Benson Torres and Friedman ("KBTF"), a New York City law firm, engaged in an intentional campaign of harassment and intimidation against ICP by, among other things, having ICP's principals followed and intimidated by private detectives in KBTF's employ, and disseminating false, misleading and defamatory information about ICP in the media.

The counter-suit describes in detail the campaign of harassment undertaken by KBTF at Fairfax's direction and KBTF's history of intimidation of analysts and investors who are critical of their clients, including documented instances in which KBTF operatives removed trash from one analyst's home in Edison, New Jersey, and followed the wife of another analyst. The counter-suit goes on to detail how, beginning in 2006, after ICP portfolio manager William Gahan began researching Fairfax, employees and officers of ICP, including Gahan, were followed by teams of KBTF operatives, who often lurked outside ICP's offices and followed ICP employees to their homes.

In addition, the counter-suit lays out the manner in which KBTF disseminated false and misleading information to the media in an effort to defame ICP, including false statements KBTF made to Fortune Magazine in an article entitled "The Inside Story of a Wall Street Battle Royal," published in Fortune, March 19, 2007.

In that article, Fortune reported that "Kasowitz's firm [KBTF] says that ICP attempted to 'derail' this offering and links ICP to 'highly abnormal short trading' in Odyssey Re's [a Fairfax subsidiary, NYSE: ORH] shares."  In truth, as KBTF knew, ICP had not bought, sold or sold short, any shares of Fairfax's or Odyssey Re's stock, and this statement was simply an effort by KBTF to damage ICP's reputation and credibility.

The counter-suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages as a result of Fairfax and KBTF's unlawful actions, as well as an injunction prohibiting Fairfax and KBTF from continuing to follow, harass, and otherwise attempt to intimidate ICP.

ICP and Mr. Gahan are represented by John P. Lacey in the New Jersey office of Connell Foley LLP. 

DATASOURCE: Institutional Credit Partners, LLC



CONTACT:  John P. Lacey, [phone], for Institutional Credit

Partners, LLC



Web site:  http://www.icpcapital.com/ 

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