So a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, like last year, a bunch of poker pros took exception to the release that the World Poker Tour requires that people sign when they enter their tournaments and sued the WPT over it. Then they filed for a motion of summary judgment, as is not uncommon in civil suits. a motion of summary judgment would have ended the case before it actually came to trial, and this one would have ended in favor of the pros suing the WPT. Well, the judge said “not so fast, folks,” and now there’s gonna be a trial. Here’s the press release -
In the antitrust lawsuit brought against WPT Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WPTE) by seven professional poker players, United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II denied the Motion for Summary Judgment filed on March 14, 2007, by plaintiffs Chris Ferguson, Andrew Bloch, Annie Duke, Joseph Hachem, Phil Gordon, Howard Lederer, and Greg Raymer. WPTE filed an Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion on April 12, 2007, to which the plaintiffs filed a Reply Brief. After review of the parties’ submissions, as well as the arguments advanced by counsel at a hearing on May 14, the court on May 22nd denied the plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment.
“We are very pleased with Judge Wright’s order denying the Motion for Summary Judgment,” said WPTE’s General Counsel, Adam Pliska. “We feel that this decision confirms our contention that this case is without merit.”
WPTE has engaged the law firms of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher and Brownstein, Hyatt and Farber in connection with this case.