Lawyer Claims Steve Wynn's Rights Were Violated in Defamation Case Ruling
Wynn's right to a trial by jury was violated in a long-standing defamation case against a former Wynn Resorts hairstylist, according to his lawyers who presented their case to the Nevada Court of Appeals on Thursday. Instead of a jury deciding which party was telling the truth, it was decided by a judge, in accordance with a previous ruling.
Former artistic director of the salon at Wynn Las Vegas and later the Encore, Jorgen Nielsen, was one of two individuals who publicly accused the casino mogul of harassing female employees in a somewhat notorious article published by the Wall Street Journal in January 2018. After the article was published, Steve Wynn parted ways with the gambling industry, despite denying all allegations.
The article quoted Nielsen as saying that everyone was afraid of Wynn, and that no one was there to help when they tried to express their concerns. In April 2018, Wynn sued Nielsen for defamation, claiming that Nielsen had a "personal animus, dislike, and anger towards Mr. Wynn" and that his allegations of sexual misconduct were made with the intention of harming and causing trouble for the casino magnate. One of these accusations was that Wynn chased a manager around the salon until she locked herself in the bathroom, but his legal team argued this couldn't be true as Wynn is legally blind.
Nielsen filed a motion to have the case dismissed, which was successful in the Nevada Supreme Court, rendering it a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP). SLAPPs are lawsuits that are not necessarily meant to be won by the plaintiff but are instead filed with the intent of silencing, intimidating, or censoring critics.
While Wynn's attorney Todd Bice acknowledged that there have been false accusations against Wynn in the past, he argued that trials were necessary to determine the truth. "Examples can be cited of making accusations against Mr. Wynn. Mr. Wynn can cite examples where he has been wrongly accused and prevailed," he said according to The Las Vegas Review-Journal. "So, no, that's why we have trials. That's why the jury gets to hear all of the evidence and decide who's telling the truth here."
On the other hand, Joel Henrion, who was representing Nielsen, cautioned against undermining the anti-SLAPP law with a "billionaire bully."
In the meantime, Wynn accepted a $10 million settlement with Nevada gaming regulators in July, as a resolution to their claims that the sexual misconduct allegations had damaged Nevada's reputation and its gaming industry. In the settlement, Wynn committed not to take on any positions at gambling establishments in Nevada ever again.
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