CRESCO -- A local trailer manufacturer is going after people they say are taking potshots at the company through an Internet bulletin board.

Featherlite Inc. has filed a federal lawsuit charging the authors of Web site posts with defamation.

But at this point company officials only know them by their screen names. They filed their legal complaint against "John Does" who will be named after they are unmasked.

"We have our suspicions, but we don't know for sure," said James Pray, the Des Moines attorney representing Featherlite.

The plaintiff can learn the names behind the online handles by subpoenaing Internet service providers, Pray said.

The writers go by the pseudonyms "illdoit100," "kev1692001," "atlantatrasher," "funkdaddy40," "forty8wins" and "dogger2k," according to the lawsuit.

A search engine shows that some of the names have been discussing Featherlite on the Yahoo Finance boards.

The complaint said they posted messages about the company's finances and products that have damaged the business's reputation.

The terms "shell game," "cooked books," "unsafe" and "sham" are used in the offensive postings, which first began to appear in February.

"The words and material are and were wholly false, defamatory and untrue, all of which were known to (the) defendants," the lawsuit states.

Pray said just because the material was posted anonymously doesn't make them any less defamatory.

Featherlite, which is based in Minnesota with its principal place of business in Cresco, has asked the court for $150,000 in damages plus costs and other relief.