A Nevada judge has barred lawyers for Elaine Wynn from participating in the court battle she’s pursuing to nullify an agreement with ex-husband Steve Wynn that prevents her from selling her billion stake in Wynn Resorts.
Nevada District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez has issued an order that temporarily blocks Los Angeles firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan from the suit in response to Wynn Resorts’ allegation that the firm failed to disclose to the judge and the company’s lawyers that they possessed proprietary information about the casino operator that Elaine Wynn had downloaded on her computer.
Gonzalez is now considering whether to disqualify the firm altogether.
“I’ve had multiple stories every time I’ve dealt with this information,” the judge said at a recent hearing. “The fact that the story changes whenever some new information come up gives me a high level of concern, which is why I am trying to preclude Quinn Emanuel from affirmatively reaching out to anyone.”
The ruling came almost a year after Elaine Wynn, who had failed to keep her seat on the company’s board in 2015, brought in Quinn Emanuel to represent her in the three-way legal brawl involving her, Steve Wynn and his former business partner, Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada. Okada was also dismissed from the Wynn board and forcibly bought out in response to investigations into alleged wrongdoing surrounding an Okada casino project in the Philippines.
Quinn Emanuel claims that Wynn was ousted in retaliation for challenging her ex-husband’s management style. Among the allegations were claims that Steve Wynn had been forced into a multimillion-dollar settlement with a former employee over allegation of “serious misconduct” on company property. Elaine Wynn also last year claimed she was entitled to whistle-blower protection for disclosing possible securities law violations to Wynn Resorts’ external auditors.
