NEW LEGAL TACTIC FROM 1ST TECHNOLOGY IN BODOG CASE (Update)

19 October 2007

Can Bodog's founder risk a personal appearance in the Unites States?


1st Technologies LLC is apparently not content to let matters rest as a perceived draw in its $49 million patents scrap with the Bodog online gambling group (see previous InfoPowa reports) New legal tactics appear to have been deployed with the objective of getting Bodog founder Calvin Ayre to make a US appearance - clearly a risky business given the aggressive mood of the US federal authorities when it comes to online gambling executives.

In a statement headed "Federal Judge Lifts Stay for Bodog CEO Ayre’s Order to Appear: Must Appear in US Court November 2 or face arrest" this week, 1st Technologies announced an expansion of its legal campaign.

The statement revealed that following a recent U.S. Federal Court decision "...lifting the previously stayed Federal Court order for the personal appearance of CEO and founder Mr. Calvin Ayre as a debtor in the 1st Technology judgment," the Bodog founder will be required to appear under oath in 1st Technology’s Las Vegas Nevada lawyers’ law offices on November 2, 2007 and that failure to appear, according to the signed order, “... will result in a bench warrant being issued for the arrest of Calvin Ayre….”

The 1st Technologies statement claims that the Court debtor order stemmed from 1st Technology’s notice to the Bodog entities and Mr. Ayre for production of documents, including bank records, check registers, copies of income tax returns for the past five years, as well as the Bodog entities U.S. customer, sponsor, and affiliate lists, and records of payments.

Dr. Scott Lewis, CEO of 1st Technology, took the opportunity afforded by the statement to announce that a portion of the judgment proceeds from the Bodog case [if successful] will be ear-marked for charity and educational concerns.

“We have devoted our life’s effort to creating and commercializing new technology, in this journey we have stood up for American inventor’s rights, and the rule of U.S. law for, and applicable to, all of those who participate in America’s bounty – it is only proper that we should give back as we continue to build new technologies and expand the base of intellectual property in America,” he said.

1st Technology indicated that the charitable contributions will be distributed to a number of charities including: The Twin Towers Orphan Fund, The National Counsel on Problem Gambling, and a variety of American inventor educational and non-profit organizations.

When InfoPowa went to press this week there had not yet been a response from Bodog to the 1st Technology statement, but there can be little doubt that the legal confrontation between the two companies is likely to continue.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa