Gossip Column: Mike Postle Legal Drama Likely Nearing an End as Plaintiffs Agree to an “In-Principle” Settlement

Mike Postle - Gossip Column Aug 18
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  • Attreyee Khasnabis August 18, 2020
  • 5 Minutes Read

The ‘Mike Postle’ cheating was one of the biggest stories to rock the poker world in 2019. Video evidence brought to the forefront by Veronica Brill, a former commentator at Stones Live Poker, seemed to indicate Postle’s ability to see his opponents’ cards. Upon discovery, several players filed suit in federal court.

Mike Postle
Mike Postle

 

Last we had heard of this case was back in June, when U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb granted the motions to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the three defendants, Postle, former Stones Live production manager Justin Kuraitis and King’s Casino (parent company to Stones Gambling Hall). Since then, two new developments have taken place that seems to indicate that the legal drama might soon be ending. First up, a settlement has been reached between the 88 plaintiffs and defendants in Nevada. Secondly, U.S. District

Judge James C. Mahan dismissed the case, filed by poker vlogger Marle Cordeiro in California, solely for lack of territorial jurisdiction.

Let’s take an in-depth look at the recent developments in this cheating scandal.

 

“In-Principle” Settlement Reached Between the 88 Plaintiffs & Defendants in Nevada

It seems like Brill and 87 other plaintiffs in the cheating allegations case against Postle, King’s Casino and Kuraitis, have agreed to an out of court settlement. On August 5, Mac VerStandig filed a request asking for a third time extension regarding the plaintiffs’ amended complaint, stating that both sides have agreed to a settlement in principle, and needed time to work out the details.

Mac VerStandig
Mac VerStandig

 

VerStanding asked the court for more time to communicate individually with every plaintiff to make sure all 88 of them have agreed to the terms of the settlement reached in principle.

“Counsel for the parties have reached an agreement as to the principal terms of a settlement of this case, but require additional time to finalize the settlement,” wrote VerStandig in the filing.

The filing gave the plaintiffs until September 11 to file the amended complaint. Its likely terms of a settlement will be reached by that point.

The entire filing is available here.

At the time this settlement was reached, Postle was still fighting a second legal battle in Nevada with poker pro and vlogger Cordeiro.

 

Judge Dismisses Marle Cordeiro’s Case For Lack of Jurisdiction

U.S. District Court of Nevada Judge Mahan dismissed an action brought by poker pro Marle Cordeiro against Postle, citing a lack of jurisdiction over key elements. The judgment and related opinion, dated Friday, August 14, likely ends the attempts to hold Postle civilly responsible for any alleged cheating activity.

Marle Cordeiro
Marle Cordeiro

 

In June, Postle was dismissed as a co-defendant in a California case, even though settlement talks between that case’s 88 plaintiffs and the other defendants were ongoing. This was eventually reached on August 5. Instead of becoming an 89th defendant, in that case, Las Vegas resident Cordeiro opted to sue Postle — and only Postle — in Nevada, citing circumstances that Cordeiro and her counsel, gambling-law lawyer VerStandig, believed brought the matter under Nevada jurisdiction.

Cordeiro filed her lawsuit in April, seeking $250,000 in damages and a jury trial, citing five causes of action against Postle over the alleged cheating activity:

>Violation of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) by using wire transmissions to cheat

>Fraud for falsely claiming to be an honest player

>Negligent misrepresentation by claiming Stones’ games were honest

>Negligence per se by devising a scheme by which to defraud using false pretenses

>Negligence per se for violating the California Penal Code regarding cheating in a gambling game.

Postle filed his dismissal motion in late June.

Judge Mahan quashed those claims in his August 14 order, citing the three-part “Calder Test” as his reasoning for dismissal. Mahan cited case precedent in writing:

“Under Calder, the ‘effects’ test requires that the defendant allegedly has (1) committed an intentional act, (2) expressly aimed at the forum state (meaning Nevada), (3) [and] causing harm that the defendant knows is likely to be suffered in the forum state.”

According to Judge Mahan, the claims could not be applied against Postle as claimed, inferring that Stones’ Gambling Hall parent company King’s Casino LLC might have been the more likely target defendant.

Mahan further wrote, “[P]laintiff argues that because the defendant’s poker activities in California were broadcast online, it was aimed at or had an effect in Nevada because that is where the plaintiff resides and where she watched the broadcast games. Further, the plaintiff argues that watching the broadcast games in Nevada’ lured [her] into participating, causing her to be ultimately swindled and defrauded by the defendant.’ In other words, the plaintiff argues that although the alleged cheating occurred in California, the defendant should be subject to Nevada jurisdiction because a third party (Stones Gambling Hall) broadcast the alleged misconduct to Nevada, where she watched the games. This argument fails to consider that the defendant was a participant of the broadcast games—not the broadcaster—thus, the defendant did not ‘expressly aim’ his alleged poker misconduct at the state of Nevada.”

In response to this decision, VerStandig told PokerNews, “The U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada found Mr. Postle lacks sufficient contacts with the State of Nevada to be sued there and accordingly dismissed the case. I have immense respect for the court as well as the judge who issued the ruling; it is well-written and well-reasoned. Importantly, however, the order does not speak to the merits of the case. Mr. Postle has now amassed a laudable track record of avoiding substantive legal inquiries into the sum and substance of his actions; it seems supremely unfortunate he has taken this path and not, instead, seized on one of these opportunities to clear his good name. Ms. Cordeiro and I are still reviewing the order and assessing various options.”

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