Quote:
Originally Posted by wiiziwiig
I think it could be simplified to something along the lines of 1) $250,000 to $350,000 goes back to the players to repay their losses. 2) Pay each player 5bb/hr for each session he was in for every hour he played. 3) Emotional and psychological distress / pain and suffering restitution could be a lump sum of $10k-$50k to anyone losing over $10k or some figure to Postle. Obviously Postle doesn't have this much, and his future earnings are uncertain since he is a full-time poker player and won't be playing much poker in his future. Seems like they would have to go after Stones if they really want to get paid, but if they go after Stones, might as well go really big and try to settle out of court.
There's no basis for (2). Speculative damages are prohibited, even in fraud cases. You get your out of pocket losses, plus punitive damages if you fall within the narrow bounds of that statute.
(3) has to actually been proven. Contrary to popular belief, emotional distress is not a free for all where the jury gives you anything you want. You want your psychiatrists' bills? Well, you will have to waive the therapist-patient privilege and put them into evidence. You want emotional distress? Prepare to be cross-examined as to exactly how you suffered.
Again, not saying there's zero possibility of an emotional distress award here (it's possible), but it isn't something you can really count on (and again, the damages are fairly low here- you might get $25,000 for your emotional distress or something).