Canadians Bring Second Lawsuit Against Full Tilt Poker
Two online poker players from Canada have taken it on themselves to bring a class action lawsuit against the giant poker site, Full Tilt Poker.
Zayn Jetha and Donald Whelan are representing themselves and all other poker players from around the world who have not managed to recover their funds from the online poker site since it shut down operations.
Full Tilt Poker owes more than $1.5 million in unpaid funds and doesn't seem in a hurry to pay the money back, despite assurances that a solution is being sought.
The Canadian poker players list a number of companies linked to the online poker room, including Full Tilt Poker Inc., Full Tilt Poker Ltd and Tiltware LLC in their lawsuit.
They also name Howard Lederer, Raymond Bitar and Nelson Burtnick, as well as up to 25 'John Does' as defendants. Both Bitar and Burtnick were named by the Department of Justice on their list of eleven men who have been indicted.
Similarities to First Class Action Suit
As noted, this is the second class action suit brought against the beleaguered online poker room. The first was filed in the United States by poker pro Todd Terry, as well as three others who are representing themselves. The main difference between the first and the second lawsuit is that Terry's complaint represents poker players residing in the United States only, while Jetha and Whelan's lawsuit is on behalf of all players affected by the non-payouts.
The second lawsuit also listed all the members of Team Full Tilt, however Phil Gordon managed to have his name removed from the complaint after he proved that he had not participated in management decisions or operational roles at the online poker site.
The second summons was issued a week ago and it is hoped that it could somehow kick start Full Tilt Poker into honoring its commitment to its players and pay them their money due.
The industry is now waiting to see if anything will come about from a hearing that is scheduled for September this year, initiated by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, to discuss the online poker room's operating license. Players are also hopeful that something will come out of acquisition talks with an anonymous European investment talks so that capital could be raised to return their funds.
