The ongoing court battle between Deliverance Poker and two defendants – 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final tablist Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and the parent company of Full Tilt Poker, Tiltware LLC – has heated up over the past two weeks, with a flurry of motions presented to the court.
On March 1st, Judge James Nowlin of the U.S. District Court for Western Texas issued an order to refer the parties into mediation. Judge Nowlin indicated in the order that he would receive an Alternative Dispute Resolution report from the sides by March 21st and would meet with the legal teams on April 21st to determine the status of negotiations. If there isn’t a mediated agreement in the case, Judge Nowlin set a date for the case to head to trial on April 25th at 9:00am.
Instead of heading to the bargaining table, both sides ramped up their motions in the case. On March 3rd, Deliverance Poker presented a list of witnesses and exhibits. One of the attorneys representing Deliverance Poker, John Jacks, plans to call Mizrachi to the stand along with representatives from Deliverance Poker. Listed as one of those witnesses is Carlos Benavides III, a Texas businessman who holds the trademark on “Deliverance Poker” since 2008.
In addition to the list of witnesses, many exhibits were presented to the court. Of note in these exhibits are the contracts signed by Mizrachi and his brothers, Robert, Eric, and Danny. Several web pages, interviews, and online articles will also be presented as evidence, with such companies as Full Tilt Poker, CardPlayer, Ante Up Magazine, and the Hendon Mob being used to present Deliverance Poker’s case.
On March 5th, Mizrachi’s attorney, John Henry, filed a protective order against deposition. In the request, Henry stated, “Mizrachi certifies that on March 4, 2011, counsel for Defendant conferred in good faith with Plaintiff’s counsel in an effort to resolve the dispute without Court action, but was unable to reach agreement.” At issue for any deposition of Mizrachi is the fact that, as of this time, Tiltware has yet to be presented with thorough documentation on the case.
According to the motion for the protective order, Mizrachi agreed to be deposed once all documentation had been presented to Tiltware’s attorneys. As this has not been completed, Mizrachi’s attorneys would not let their client be questioned by Deliverance Poker’s legal team. It is pointed out in the motion that the Court “may, for good cause, issue an order to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense, including … forbidding the disclosure or discovery.”
Attorneys for Tiltware got back in the game over the last week. In addition to adding counsel to their legal team, Tiltware has filed an expedited motion to dismiss the case, citing that the U.S. District Court lacks the “subject matter jurisdiction” to hear the complaint. In this motion for dismissal, Tiltware’s legal team has also indicated that, if the dismissal motion is denied, it will be looking to file a motion for continuance from the April trial date, set a cutoff date for discovery, and remove Tiltware from the complaint.
The case dates back to September of last year, when Deliverance Poker filed a two-count complaint against Mizrachi and Tiltware. In it, Deliverance Poker alleged that Mizrachi violated a signed contract by entering into a new deal with Full Tilt Poker, a subsidiary of Tiltware.
During the 2010 WSOP, Mizrachi wore Deliverance Poker apparel during his bracelet run in the $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship, but, by the time he had worked his way to the Main Event final table, “The Grinder” was patched up with Full Tilt Poker regalia.
Poker News Daily will continue to monitor the situation and report on any further developments.
