US Court Nixes Lawsuit Against Full Tilt Poker
Written by Renee K | Sunday, February 14th, 2010
An ongoing lawsuit against Full Tilt Poker for alleged breach of contract got thrown out of court for the third and final time after judges could not find any concrete evidence. The leading US poker site had been sued by poker pro Clonie Gowen, who claimed that she was promised a 1% share in the popular site in return for endorsing it as a member of Full Tilt Poker Pro.
In all three cases that were brought before US courts, Gowen claimed that the promise had been made to her verbally, however the residing judges all dismissed the cases, stating the Gowen could not provide substantial evidence to back her claim.
Gowen began her first lawsuit in early 2009, claiming that she was owed $40 million. She said that she was offered a 1% stake in Full Tilt in May 2004 after a meeting with Full Tilt founders, including Phil Ivey and Eric Lindgren. In exchange for such a significant stake, Gowen said that she was asked to represent and promote the company.
Gowen said that in 2007, all members of Team Full Tilt Poker received checks, and she was the only one who did not. She was subsequently offered $250,000 for her past work with the poker team – an offer that she denied. Soon after parting with Full Tilt Poker, Gowen launched her first claim.
After the claim was thrown out of court a first and a second time, a US District Court Judge, Robert C. Jones, finally denied Gowen her claim for the third and final time this week.
In his decision, Judge Jones wrote, in a long winded way, that it was not plausible that Gowen was offered a partnership with Full Tilt Poker.
“The Court could perhaps infer that Defendants were offering Plaintiff a partnership, with a right to a 1% share of profits (and losses),” he wrote. “There is an allegation of an agreement to carry on a business in concert to share profits… As a general partner, Plaintiff would also be 1% liable for the losses of Full Tilt Poker, however, because limited partnerships in Nevada require a filing with the Secretary of State, which has not been alleged… But nowhere in the allegations does Plaintiff allege, consistent with a general partnership, that the agreement made her liable for 1% of Full Tilt Poker’s losses before it became profitable. Therefore, it is not plausible that a partnership, limited or general, was offered.”
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· Written by Renee K · Filed Under Poker News · Comments Off
