Borgata’s lawsuit against poker pro Phil Ivey for alleged edge-sorting during a baccarat session in 2012 has been given the equivalent of a verbal smack down by a judge who ordered the casino to clean up its complaint because the existing one apparently didn’t have complete details.
According to U.S. District Court Judge Noel Hillman, Borgata needs to do a little tidying up of its complaint against Ivey because it did not fully disclose the poker pro’s citizenship in its lawsuit. Turns out, Borgata only identified Phillip D. Ivey, Jr., as a “citizen of the United States currently residing in Mexico” without explicitly saying what particular state in the US Ivey is a citizen of. Describing your knowledge of a defendant’s citizenship on grounds of “information and belief” isn’t going to cut it for Judge Hillman.
Borgata also made the same mistake on another defendant of the lawsuit, specifically Cheng Yin Sun, which Borgata only describes with the same “upon information and belief” caveat as a “resident” of the Nevada without stating which state Sun is a citizen of.
It seems like an elementary mistake for a casino that has seen its share of lawsuits over the years. But Judge Hillman looks and sounds like a no-nonsense man that wants his complaints to be fully vetted and not lacking all the pertinent information. Kind of reminds us of Uncle Phil, doesn’t it?
Judge Hillman is giving Borgata enough time to amend its complaint, giving the casino ten days to comply with 28 U.S.C. § 1332. In the event Borgata fails to file the amended lawsuit in time, the case will be dismissed for “lack of subject matter jurisdiction.”
The deadline expires on April 24, 2014 so Borgata needs to get to work before that day comes. Otherwise, it’s lawsuit against Ivey will be thrown out to the can.
