Wynn Resorts and founder Steve Wynn had been very successful in the courtroom in recent years, but that streak has ended after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) claim against Wynn and the company would stand, indicating the possibility of trial barring a settlement.
According to the court’s ruling, the motion to dismiss the claim was denied because the arguments presented are substantial enough to justify more deliberation from a merits panel. A response to the ruling is due May 25, and there is currently no timetable in place for a requisite panel. The panel would be tasked with determining whether or not the claim actually warrants a trial.
The origins of said claim trace back to 2018, when former Wynn employee Angela Limcaco filed suit against the company for wrongful termination. In her claim, she alleged that her employment was terminated after she reported Wynn himself to the company for sexual harassment against a fellow Wynn Las Vegas salon employee back in 2005.
The federal judge overseeing the case, Miranda Du, granted a motion dismissing the suit, citing an expiration of the statute of limitations.
However, Wynn’s lead counsel, Elayna Youchah, was appointed as a Nevada federal district court judge shortly before her motion to dismiss the case was submitted. She then accepted the post after Judge Du granted the dismissal, suggesting the two were essentially collaborators on the case.
Not long after the ruling, it was also discovered that payments had been made from Wynn Resorts to the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada (LACSN). LACSN executive director Barbara Buckley was on the panel that appointed Youchah—this confluence of events eventually led Limcaco to file a RICO charge in federal court in California.
The charge was also dismissed in November 2021, prompting Limcaco to appeal to the 9th Circuit Court back in March.
For Wynn himself, the recent ruling is only one of the embattled casino mogul’s current considerations. Just last week, the Nevada Supreme Court sided in favor of the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) after they appealed a district court’s ruling that Wynn could not face sanctions due to the fact that he was no longer employed by his namesake company or any other Nevada gaming licensee.
The Supreme Court’s ruling technically returned the matter back to the original court, but this time with orders to dismiss a previous petition from Wynn’s counsel requesting Wynn be exempt from sanctions due to his separation from the company. According to the Supreme Court, the district court had no authority to grant the request.
Although the NGCB is still unable to sanction Wynn as they would if he were still a gaming employee, the door for a potential lifetime ban in the state is now open.
