Last Monday, judge Leonard Sand of the southern district of New York, has rejected several requests in action against Full Tilt Poker. These proceedings were several companies dealing with FTP and many of its owners.
The query had originally been done in date of June 30 last on behalf of all US against 13 individuals defendants players: Ray Bitar, Nelson Burtnick, Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, John Juanda, Jennifer Harman-Traniello, Phil Gordon, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Gus Hansen, Allen Cunningham, and Patrik Antonius. It is worth noting that Phil Gordon had already been cleared with prejudice. The complaint was made against 9 names of companies related to FTP and a list of 100 John Doe.
According to the request, the work people had violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO act).
The request was rejected almost entirely with the exception of complaints against Ray Bitar and Nelson Burtnick. To date, they are the only two people to face criminal charges.
The reason why the other defendants have been paid is that the demanding party did not submit sufficient evidence to convince that the accused were fully aware of what was happening at FTP. In other words, it has not been proven that these people did anything to harm players to FTP. If FTP players can now withdraw their money from the site, it is not because of all the accused. So the 13 defendants have been found guilty, he would have had prove that these people have night for the proper functioning of FTP, what has not been done.
Also, judge Sand said that the complaint concerning the RICO act did not apply in this case.
This complaint was made by Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLC for all US players who had real money on their FTP account dated April 15, 2011. The company was represented by Steve Segal, Nick Hammer, Robin Hougdahl and Todd Terry. It was the first motion presented against FTP and his companies associated since Black Friday.
The majority of those involved in this case would not comment, but an official statement was posted by Ifrah Law firm that defended FTP. It is they who have presented the "motion to dismiss" which has invalidated the prosecution before the Court. To make a summary, a "motion to dismiss" cancels a query when it is deemed that the law not be able to offer adequate to the plaintive cure. Cela does not affect the validity or the veracity of the charges or the complaint.
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Tuesday, Jan 31, 2012Ifrah Law Wins Motion To Dismiss Ruling For Full Tilt Poker
New York Federal Judge Dismisses RICO Class Action follows Against Full Tilt Poker
Washington, D.C., January 31, 2012 - The Ifrah Law firm today announced they have won a favorable ruling on behalf of companies and individual the Full Tilt poker professionals who were named as defendants in the first class action follows brought by former U.S. Players in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York last summer. The suit, which involved complex fraud issues arising out of claims of conversion and civil RICO, was the result of Plaintiff's demand for return of U.S. player funds that held in Full Tilt player accounts after the government shut down on Black Friday. Ifrah Law was able to obtain a dismissal of ALL claims against the individual defendants pro poker, as well as all RICO claims against the corporate defendants.
The lawsuit demanded not only a return of Plaintiff's money under a conversion claim, but it also accused the defendants of racketeering, which would have entitled Plaintiffs to treble damages (or three times the amount owed). Plaintiffs alleged that the that the only reason players suffered losses was due to executives and others associated with Full Tilt companies willfully committed wire and bank fraud and money laundering.
In his January 30, 2012 Order, U.S. District Judge Leonard B. Sand held that Plaintiffs did not have standing to institute their RICO claim. Specifically, Judge Sand found that it was not clear at this point in the litigation "whether the direct cause of Plaintiffs' injuries was the decision by the U.S. Attorney's office to temporarily shut down the Full Tilt Poker website and sixteen the company's assets but was instead, as Plaintiffs' conversion allegations suggest, the subsequent decision by one or more of the Defendants to halt player withdrawals from the Full Tilt Poker website."
As to Plaintiffs' conversion claim, Judge Sand held that the claim could proceed with respect to Pocket Kings Limited, Vantage Ltd., and Filco Ltd. only. Judge Sand granted Plaintiffs leave to amend the conversion claim with respect to Tiltware LLC and Pocket Kings Consulting because the current complaint, as state, did not allege that these corporate entities played some role in the conversion. As for the individual poker pro defendants, Judge Sand dismissed the conversion claim outright, without leave to amend.
The Order not only represents a victory for the individual defendants in this case, but it also represents a victory for the individual defendants in the other class action cases pending in New York that still remain. A key finding in Judge Sand's Order was that there were no. facts to support jurisdiction against the individual defendants in this short. The court stated that only do the allegations fail to demonstrate that any of the individual defendants committed a tortious act outside of New York, but that the individual defendants committed a tortious act of any sort at all.
Although this case will proceed with respect to some of the corporate defendants, Judge Sand's Order represents a victory for them as well. The dismissal of the RICO claims against the corporate defendants signals to other plaintiffs that the events leading up to Black Friday and post-Black Friday may not be as clear cut as they may appear in the pending criminal indictments. The dismissal also limits the types of damages to which these defendants may have been exposed to had the court allowed the claim to proceed.
Jeff Ifrah, founder of Ifrah Law hopes the Court's decision will incentivize others to quickly surrender their law suits. "The Court's decision recognizes that relief for the players is being pursued by the United States." "There is no. compelling basis to open additional doors for private class action lawyers to pursue that very same relief."
