Kentucky Refuses to Name Citizens in Gambling Litigation

Having asked the Franklin County Circuit court last week to add the names of U.S citizens and companies to the lawsuit that seeks the forfeiture of 141 Internet gaming domain names, lawyers representing the Commonwealth of Kentucky have steadfastly refused to identify any of the new individuals targeted, despite numerous requests from attorneys representing iMEGA.

In response to one such request, William C. Hurt Jr., a lawyer from Hurt, Crosbie & May in Lexington, wrote that no one had the right to any information or even to challenge the motion.

"I do not believe anyone has standing to file a response or motion to strike," Hurt wrote, despite a January 2009 ruling by the Kentucky Court of Appeals that successfully blocked the seizure of the domains. "In any case, the appeal of this case is merely an interlocutory appeal of a denial of a motion to intervene. I am unaware of any authority to the effect that this divests the circuit court of jurisdiction," said Hurt.

Lawyers representing the Commonwealth of Kentucky have appealed that verdict and a decision from the Kentucky Supreme Court is expected sometime early next year.

"These lawyers lost a very public battle with us in the Court of Appeals, and probably sense the same result from the State Supreme Court, so they'll do anything to keep this thing alive," Joe Brennan Jr., Chairman of iMEGA said. "They were counting on a big payday from our members, in the form of settlements to get their own property back, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

"Since they don't get one nickel from the state to pursue this, it's clear that the drive for big money has taken over, and any sense of fair play or due process has gone out the window."

Responding to Hurt's claim that no one had standing to challenge the motion or to request the names of the new individuals added to the suit, Brennan said: "Their strategy all along was to ignore us every step of the way, even after the Court of Appeals recognized our standing and blocked their seizure efforts. They can stick their head in the sand, but we're not going anywhere, and frankly, neither is their attempt to seize these domain names."