A strange lawsuit involving alleged gambling debts owed by Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk just got stranger, as his lawyer has filed three possible defenses, saying he may argue any one, or all of the defenses, or go with something completely different.
The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority in Connecticut claims Melnyk owes $900,000 U.S. worth of debt incurred two years ago, plus another $179,800 in interest and other fees. The casino claims Melnyk attempted to pay debts with bank drafts from Toronto Dominion bank that were not honoured by the institution. Melnyk's lawyer Jonathan Katz filed a disclosure of defence claiming at least three potential defences for his client:
1) The bank drafts were generated as indicated in March 2017 but, Katz alleges, the casino could have delayed presenting them for payment until September, which “caused the drafts to become stale.”
2) According to Katz, the signatures that appeared on the drafts are of "questionable appearance." He claims this would have given TD Bank a reasonable basis for believing the drafts might not be genuine, noting TD Bank was not under the control of Melnyk.
3) Perhaps the strangest of the lot is an allegation the gaming authority "acted in bad faith." Katz alleges Melnyk's defence could be that the casino “refused (Melnyk's) instruction to cash out” his chips just when he was winning “significant amounts of money.” The allegation is that the gaming authority “induced” Melnyk to keep gambling until he incurred “substantial losses.”
Katz will argue an upcoming motion in the hopes of having the lawsuit against Melnyk dismissed by the court.
Source: Ottawa Citizen
