The legal move by litigant poker player Kelly Sonnenburg to obtain disclosure of corporate information from the Rational Group’s licensing application in New Jersey suffered a setback in an Illinois federal court this week when a judge granted the poker company’s request for a Protective Order Staying Discovery.
Sonnenburg has launched litigation against Rational Group as the parent of Pokerstars, attempting to leverage an Illinois state law that permits recovery of losses stemming from illegal gambling (see previous reports), and as an extension of the process she sought to access confidential disclosures by Pokerstars submitted to the New Jersey online gambling licensing authority
In granting the stay in discovery, Judge Stephen C. Williams noted that the ruling was not on Sonnenburg’s action per se, but her attempt at further discovery that was not warranted or necessary.
Judge Williams accordingly required Sonnenburg to withdraw her subpoenas seeking the additional discovery from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement – material that Rational Group considers to be “personal, confidential and private.”
Rational Group’s lawyers will now move to dismiss the Sonnenburg suit for recovery of her losses.