Watson
EAST ST. LOUIS – Casino Queen directors and former owners plan to seek appellate review of an order rejecting individual arbitration of claims that they cheated casino employees out of retirement income.
The defendants filed notice of intent to appeal on Jan. 28, three days after U.S. District Judge David Dugan denied their motion to compel arbitration.
They moved to stay proceedings in Dugan’s court pending resolution of the appeal.
Pension plan participants Tom Hensiek and Jason Gill sued the board of directors and former owners Timothy Rand, James Koman, and Charles Bidwill last April.
They also sued current St. Clair County Associate Judge Jeffrey Watson, president and general counsel of Casino Queen until 2019.
Bortscheller
EAST ST. LOUIS – Casino Queen directors and former owners can’t enforce individual arbitration of claims that they cheated employees out of retirement income, U.S. District Judge David Dugan ruled on Jan. 25.
He rejected an arbitration clause that directors inserted by amendment in 2018, finding they failed to provide any consideration.
“Consideration exists only if there is a grant of an advantage or the bargained for acceptance of a disadvantage,” Dugan wrote.
He found the contract change was at worst illusory.
He relied on an Illinois Supreme Court case where a contract change provided nothing of value to plaintiffs and a defendant gained a corresponding benefit.