Lawyer interested in going after UB

I'm posting this here mainly for Dan and Dustin and other players affected by the UB scandal. It's a pm exchange I recently had with a high limit UB player about potential legal action. Feel free to email if you want to discuss the matter or would like additional information. (Start reading from the bottom up after the message immediately below).

Alan

[XY],

Please see the pm's exchanged below. I am an attorney who is considering taking legal action against UB and I am attempting to gauge the interest of potential plaintiffs. I have discussed this matter with a law professor at the University of Michigan and he is interested in assisting with the case. I have represented other well known poker players who have had disputes with online sites.

For this case I have [XYZ] and two other players signed up at present. Would you or other players you know be interested in pursuing the matter along the lines discussed in the pm's below? (I can be more specific and would be happy to speak on the phone about it.) I can be reached via email at alanengle at rushpost.com.

Thanks,

ALAN E. ENGLE


Quote:
Originally Posted by [aeest400]

I'll take these in reverse order. The statute of limitations would depend on which claims are asserted in a complaint. For RICO it would be 4 years from discovery of theft. For conversion (theft) under CA law it would be 3 years from discovery. SOLs are rarely under 3 years from when a tort is or should have been discovered.

As far as a discounted rate, if I took on other cases compensation would certainly be independent with regard to any contingency element. However, I would potentially discount the monthly rate, but it would not likely be below $1k/mo per person unless I could find 3 or more people with over 100k in potential damages. This is very cheap for legal services and it would not be worth my while to forgo other opportunities if it could not be met. (Costs, including such things as court filings and transcript fees, would be extra).

Unfortunately, it seems like a lot of the higher stakes players are not willing to push back on UB about their "refunds," to say nothing of lost interest and expenses. There is no risk in going after UB in this matter other than the cost of legal fees, and it remains a strongly +ev after factoring those in. You should encourage others who lost money, even if they have received "refunds" to sign on. Forward this email string if you think that may help.

As far as strategy, that is an interesting issue. One approach would simply be to sue them and their principals in federal court under various causes of action, including conversion and violation of RICO (which gives the potential for treble damages and recovery of attorneys fees). In this case, I would probably draft a long complaint that lays out thew whole scandle and what is known about it. This would bring additional publicity to the matter and put a ton of pressure on UB and their investors (who would have to hire lawyers, etc.). We would then litigate it like a "normal" case.

As I indicated before, I wouldn't be surprised if UB did not appear to defend themselves. If that were the case, we could get a default judgment against them and proceed to trying to collect on it. This would not be simple, but I suspect some of their US assets could be attached to satisfy a judgment.

Another approach, and the one I would likely want to start with, would be to send UB a long letter detailing the claims against them and stating the bad things that will happen to them if they do not cooperate. Party was driven from the US because the US Attorney took interest an in them, and UB could be as well. Thus, I will explain to them that the claims against them are strong, that they've stolen money from players, and that they do not get to set the terms under which it is returned.

This will get the attention of their lawyers and they will likely try to argue about what it owed, etc. At this point it becomes a negotiation about what they will do in terms of additional compensation, with the threat of a lawsuit over their heads.

I think I would start with the second approach and agree to keep things confidential, as this will provide additional leverage. My guess is that if they agree to play ball, we could have the case wrapped up in under six months. However, it we have to file suit that may take up to 18 months or more, depending on how much they want to fight.

This is only preliminary, and I would have go through all the posts on the scandle, etc. again and do some significant research before drafting a letter to UB, but it should give you a general idea. You would likely not have to be too involved in the case and I doubt you would even be deposed.

Basically, their bad acts give us significant leverage, and how the case evolves would depend on how they respond. Again, however, I would be doing this instead of, say, contract work for a law firm, so I would not be able to take it on unless my expenses were met and I had the chance to come out ahead after all is said and done. Let me know if you have any additional questions.

Best regards,

Alan


Quote:
Originally Posted by [x]

Very interesting PM, thank you. I do have a few questions:

1. What would your general plan of action be? I and others have been asking UB for our hand histories and the superuser screennames but we have not got anything. Given the jurisdictional issues, is there any way you could force UB to release these?

2. I PMed a bunch of people who posted in the main UB cheating thread in HsNL, and I understand there are others who, like me, feel they are owed more than they got. If you got together a bunch of us, could we all pay you a reduced rate?

3. What is the relevant statute of limitations here? In other words, how quickly would we have to proceed?

Many thanks,

[x]

Quote:Originally Posted by [aeest400]

I may be interested. I'm in an odd situation right now, in that I was recently let go from law firm where I've been at the last couple of years (our biggest client went bankrupt) and have been looking for another position. Thus, it I were to take on the case I would need to be paid enough to make me not look for other work at the moment.

Plaintiff's lawyers who take cases on contingency (no fee up front) typically do so for around 33% of any recovery. My situation would not enable me to do this at present. However, I could take it on for a small fee, say $2,000 up front plus $700/mo plus a contingency element (depending on the length of the case, say 25% if settled in under 6 months to 15% if longer than 18 months). This would enable me to focus on the case and forestall seeking other work. (My hourly billing rate at my last firm was $330/hr, so this is a major reduction).

I do not know if such an arrangement would work with you in terms of your financial resources.

As far as background, I am a 2002 grad of UC Berkeley law school and have mainly worked on high tech litigation matters, particularly patent litigation, at large law firms. I am familiar with litigating against big companies. (My resume is pasted below.) I also represented known online players in disputes with online poker sites (though the details of such representation are confidential.)

The advantage I would have in such a case is that I am very knowledgeable about poker, poker law, and I also know a good deal about the case already. Also, I find the factual and legal issues very interesting and would work harder than most plaintiffs lawyers, who tend to do the minimum and, in my opinion, adopt a "cookie cutter" approach and would not understand the complexities of the case.

This is only a first pass at a proposal, but this is ballpark what I would need to work on the case (and I would probably try to recruit some other plaintiffs as well). If it does not meet your needs, I would be happy to give you advice about finding another lawyer and pursuing the matter. By the way, where are you located?


Quote:
Originally Posted by [x]

[aeest400],

I saw your posts in the UB cheating thread, in which I've also posted. I estimate UB still owes me $150k - $200k. The latest email I sent out is at the bottom of this email.

I was wondering if you'd found a lawyer who would be willing to take on this case - I may be interested in hiring them privately. Or if you're a lawyer, even better - email or PM me with your teerms!

Thank you,

[x]