I\’m still trying to figure out what it all means … who the plaintiffs are, and what they\’re seeking. The best I can tell on first skim is that an LA attorney is representing himself, and seeking injunctive relief in an attempt to prevent Californians from gambling across state lines — i.e. James B. Hicks wants the site shut down.
This may or may not be connected to proposed legislation in California to allow players to gamble online within state lines.
Developing, obviously.
UPDATE: Looks like this likely is a nuisance shakedowny kinda case … though personally I\’m still suspicious that the proposed California intrastate online gambling bill might have something to do with it. From the Pokerati legal advisory team\’s Cali branch:
This is really an attorney driven case under a California law called the Unfair Competition Lawâ(UCL) that basically says, in part, that if any party is committing an act that is unlawful (i.e., violates a statute), that party can be enjoined from those unlawful acts and..must pay the plaintiff’s attorneys fees. In other words, there probably is no harm to the plaintiff, but that may be irrelevant. This is really just a vehicle to get some attorneys fees paid.