by Hillary LaClair, Senior Editor
April 24, 2009
The District Court trying Clonie Gowen’s case against online poker giant Full Tilt and its professional poker team, has been almost entirely dismissed. Gowen’s allegations that she was denied her ownership royalties – that came after she was fired years later – held several reputable players such as Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Jennifer Harman, and Andy Bloch accountable as well as the parent companies Pocket Kings Limited and Pocket Kings Consulting.
In November of last year, Full Tilt dismissed Gowen and said her image would be removed from the Full Tilt Poker site, which she says was in violation of an oral agreement reached between the two back in 2004. In her lawsuit, Gowen claimed "Breach of Contract, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Breach of the Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing, Unjust Enrichment, and Fraud" and sought $40,000,000 in damages.
Full Tilt had offered Gowen a six-figure payment as recompense; however she declined and shortly afterward filed the lawsuit.
The defendants filed a motion for dismissal which read “Mr. Gowen may, or may not, be able to make a claim for breach of an oral contract, but she certainly does not have a shotgun claim for fraud against her thirteen fellow poker pros, or a ‘minority oppression,’ or breach of fiduciary duty claim against the individual defendants.”
Gowen claims she was entitled to 1% of Tiltware\'s profits in exchange for becoming a Full Tilt Pro and representing the company at poker-related events. 13 defendents, including Tiltware CEO Raymond Bitar, Howard Lederer, Andy Bloch, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, John Juanda, Phil Gordon, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Jennifer Harman, Mike Matusow, Allen Cunningham, Gus Hansen and Patrik Antonius were not found to be accountable for the alleged oral contract and were therefore not found liable for a breach of the agreement.
The case against all but three of the defendants was dismissed with prejudice, and Gowen will not be permitted to file for another amendment. Gowen will however be given permission to continue her case against Tiltware, Bitar and Lederer.
Clonie Gowen began playing cash games in Shreveport, Louisiana on a regular basis before catching her first big win. Following a 10th place finish in a $500 World Poker Tour event in Costa Rica, she was invited to play in the WPT Ladies Night at the Bicycle Casino. Gowen earned $25,000 by defeating some of the top female players in the world, including Annie Duke, Jennifer Harman, Kathy Liebert and Evelyn Ng.
Gowen began playing professionally for Full Tilt after a third place finish at the Full Tilt Poker Championship in Las Vegas and fourth place in a $2,000 event at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic in 2005.
Full Tilt Poker is the second leading online poker room in the industry. It has a total of 11,482 cash players, a seven day running average of 11,200 and a 24 hour peak of 16,957. Full Tilt welcomes U.S. players to its tables.
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