PokerWorks

The situation continues to gather steam as tensions rise and legal accusations fly. Clonie Gowen took the most recent step in her lawsuit against Full Tilt Poker and Tiltware LLC by amending her complaint to add more of them and filing for expedited discovery to speed the case along.

Gowen initially filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Nevada on November 14, seeking $40 million from Full Tilt Poker and Tiltware for a breach of contract. She alleged that an oral agreement should have given her a percentage of ownership in the company, which Full Tilt has denied and refused to offer up any compensation that would indicate otherwise. In addition to the breach of contract allegation, she also included breach of fiduciary duties, breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment from the use of her image and publicity, and fraud due to intentional misrepresentation.

In January of 2009, Full Tilt responded with a motion to dismiss the complaint. Tiltware and all defendants, including all members of Team Full Tilt, claimed that Gowen’s “typhoon of litigation” was full of “random claims,” that the 13 individual defendants should be dismissed from the suit, and that most of her claims should be dismissed. In the motion’s references to Gowen, she was called a “self-described celebrity poker player” and a person with a “thirst for publicity.”

On January 22, Gowen filed an amended complaint against Full Tilt Poker, adding two more defendants - Pocket Kings Consulting and Tiltproof - and seven more causes of action - accounting, promissory estoppel, specific performance, declaratory relief, right of publicity, quantum meruit, and negligent misrepresentation. The amendment was in response to the aforementioned motion to dismiss and addressed some of Full Tilt’s allegations through her revised complaint.

Within the previous claims, Gowen added details about her initial phone conversation with Ray Bitar, at which point the agreement for ownership percentage in the company allegedly took place. She also amended other previously stated claims to include facts that could be legally helpful to the case.

Exactly one week later, Gowen then filed a motion for expedited discovery, meaning that depositions should be allowed at the earliest convenience, especially with regard to Ray Bitar and Chris Ferguson, and a hearing on the motion should be expedited. The reason stated in the motion had to do with “preventing Defendants from diverting and/or hiding corporate assets, and to prevent the spoliation of evidence associated with Plaintiff’s claims, as well as identify other defendants before any applicable statute of limitations runs out.” It was added that the denial of her request could cause her to be “substantially harmed.”

Regarding the amended complaint, Full Tilt Poker and all defendants in the case have 30 days from the date of the latest filing to respond in some form or fashion. And a judge could rule on Gowen’s motion for expedited discovery at any time.

Speculation from legal minds interested in the case is that the lawsuit may come to a head within the next few months, but most likely, talks may ensue even sooner with regard to a settlement. Full Tilt Poker may not want the details of the inner workings and structure of its corporate ladder put out in court documents for the world to see, and Gowen may be willing to settle for less than $40 million if she feels she is duly compensated for the time and effort she claimed she invested in the company. However, these are only theories being discussed amongst people with no direct ties to the case. All who are actually involved are being tight-lipped about the proceedings thus far.