Las Vegas partner James Barrington and his litigation team from Resnick & Louis recently secured a Motion for Summary Judgment and full recovery of costs in Dickerson v. Circa Hospitality.
In Dickerson, the plaintiff alleged she was injured on October 16, 2020, while gaming at a slot machine. According to the plaintiff, the chair she was sitting in broke, causing her to strike her right forearm against the slot machine. However, surveillance footage told a very different story—it showed the plaintiff leaning back in the chair before sliding out of it. Plaintiff’s counsel demanded $250,000, and to add insult to injury, sought spoliation sanctions against our client for failing to preserve the subject chair.
After further scrutiny, James and his team uncovered the fact that the plaintiff and her husband had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in California on September 8, 2021. The bankruptcy closed on December 22, 2021, with the couple claiming under oath that neither of them were involved in any pending lawsuits – or planned to sue anyone else. And yet, less than a year later on September 23, 2022, the plaintiff filed suit against our client for the incident that had occurred 2 years prior.
James immediately went on the offensive, filing a Motion for Summary Judgment— and prevailed. Thereafter, Plaintiff sought to reopen her bankruptcy to remedy the standing argument and filed a Motion for Reconsideration, which was denied based upon judicial estoppel. The Resnick & Louis team was also able to secure an award of costs for the defense from plaintiff’s counsel. Congratulations to James and his team, including Jessica Humphrey (Paralegal) and Adrina Harris (Secretary).
