Overstock settles lawsuit with Gradient Analytics

Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSTK) can't seem to make money selling chatchkes online, so the company has shifted its business model toward suing anyone and everyone who has ever thought a negative though about Overstock, its business model, or its controversial CEO Patrick Byrne.

Today the company announced that it has settled its lawsuit against Gradient Analytics, which it had sued for publishing negative research that played a role in driving down the company's stock price. In a press release issued by Overstock, Gradient said that "Having reviewed all SECfilings, relevant accounting literature, and all other information available to it, Gradient now believes that, to the best of its knowledge, Overstock's stated accounting policies did in fact conform with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and regrets any prior statements to the contrary."

The company also said that directors it had previously suggested were not independent were in fact independent in accordance with NASD rules.

Is this a big victory for Overstock or just the end of a battle of attrition where the publicly-traded company had more cash to burn on legal fees than the small research shop? We'll never know.

But I'll make a bet right now: Overstock's earnings report for the fourth quarter will not include a massive one-time gain on the settlement of this litigation.

As for Gradient's most important claim -- that Overstock's business model is flawed and the company is unlikely to ever become solidly profitable -- there is no evidence to the contrary.