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Nevada Judge Dismisses Marle Cordeiro Case Against Mike Postle

On 14 August 2020, the US District Court Judge James C. Mahan granted Mike Postle’s motion to dismiss the case filed by Marle Cordeiro. Back in April, Cordeiro filed a class action lawsuit against Postle, claiming that she was a victim in an alleged cheating scheme. Cordeiro believes she would have profited thousands of dollars against him, had he been playing legit poker. 

The lawsuit against Postle seeking $250,000 in punitive damages as well as a trial by jury was dismissed by Judge Mahan as the case lacked personal jurisdiction, according to the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2). In other words, the case was dismissed due to the fact that it was filed in Nevada while the poker games in relation to the accusations took place in California. The court quashed the claims citing the ‘Calder Test’ and were the reasons for the dismissal of the case. Mahan cited case precedent in writing, “Under Calder, the ‘effects’ test requires that the defendant allegedly has; 

(1) committed an intentional act, 

(2) expressly aimed at the forum state (meaning Nevada), 

(3) [and] causing harm that the defendant knows is likely to be suffered in the forum state.”

The plaintiffs also sought jurisdictional discovery given Postle’s ties to Nevada, which primarily revolved around meeting the mother of his young daughter in Reno to exchange custody. According to the court ruling, Postle travels to Nevada once or twice a month, but the court ruled it was not sufficient to establish general personal jurisdiction. However, the court saw it differently writing, “Therefore, this court finds that plaintiff’s allegations are insufficient to plausibly give rise to jurisdiction, given the total absence of evidence to support these allegations and defendant’s denial. Accordingly, jurisdictional discovery is not appropriate.”

VerStandig responded to the ruling by saying that the court simply found that Postle lacked sufficient contacts to be sued in Nevada. He stated that he is still reviewing the possibilities and assessing various options to the merits of the case. He also showed great respect to the court for a well written and well reasoned ruling.

Back in October 2019, there were several missing pieces that led to the conclusion of the first case. No one associated with Postle or Stones was willing to testify publicly to the cheating scheme. And the 88 plaintiffs were not able to nail down and prove the exact method used to cheat. And without clear-cut testimony or evidence the case died. 

The second case, filed in early April 2020, suffered from the same missing proof. The defendant was also able to use the dismissal of the California case to bolster this one. Further, the case was able to be summarily dismissed on a jurisdictional basis. As it stands, Postle will face no legal penalties for his actions. Last week, a third time extension was filed to the court as the lawyers shifted from refiling the case to negotiating a settlement. However, the two sides need more time to come to a complete agreement. For more updates on poker in the country and around the world, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com.

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