Light & Wonder (LNW), in a court battle with Aristocrat Gaming over its Dragon Train game, is facing new allegations of failing to comply adequately with the preliminary injunction awarded against it by a Nevada federal court.
On Sept. 23, Judge Gloria M. Navarro of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada issued a decision granting Aristocrat’s motion for a preliminary injunction on its trade secret claims against LNW. That injunction followed Aristocrat’s accusation that LNW used the same math for Dragon Train that Aristocrat had developed for its earlier hit, Dragon Link. The secrets were allegedly brought to LNW by Emma Charles, a game mathematician the company hired in 2021. Charles worked for Aristocrat from 2008 to 2017, helping with the development of Aristocrat’s Dragon Link during her tenure there.
The court enjoined LNW from “any continued or planned sale, leasing, or other commercialization of Dragon Train,” but also required it to identify and purge all traces of Aristocrat’s trade secrets from its systems.
Two days later, LNW issued a statement saying it “respectfully disagrees” with the court’s decision and planned to proceed with a jury trial. However, a court will not issue a preliminary injunction unless the judge feels that the plaintiff stands a significant chance of winning. Despite its initial protests, LNW complied with the portion of the injunction requiring the removal of existing Dragon Train installations in North America.
Tracking down the data proves difficult
Rather than appealing the injunction as it initially suggested it would, LNW merely requested more time to comply with the requirement. Locating all references to Dragon Link on company systems is challenging, the company claims. Its emergency motion for partial modification of the preliminary injunction noted it retained outside help to “search for, secure, and account for responsive materials within the company.”
However, Aristocrat is not satisfied with LNW’s efforts. In a new court filing earlier this week, it contends LNW isn’t complying with some of the injunction’s requirements, specifically to produce documents related to the case.
Light & Wonder has made little effort to comply with the Order’s requirements to search for documents reflecting Aristocrat’s trade secrets, and to identify every instance in which Light & Wonder has disclosed those trade secrets, outside the context of Dragon Train. To make matters worse, Light & Wonder did not make a reasonable effort to identify which documents and disclosures actually reflect Aristocrat’s trade secrets.
For the first year of this trade secret dispute, L&W vehemently denied any wrongdoing. L&W claimed that it ‘extensively searched both its electronic files and those of the two employees at Aristocrat’s request in advance of a parallel proceeding in Australia . . . and did not locate any Aristocrat confidential documents or information. Following the Order, L&W’s position has shifted again. Unable to credibly dispute that L&W acquired Aristocrat math information from Emma Charles and used that information— indeed, shortly after issuance of the Order, L&W terminated Ms. Charles — L&W now maintains that the misappropriation was essentially limited to Dragon Train.
Neither company has responded to Bonus’ request for comment.
LNW’s legal difficulties mount
LNW’s legal team is now fighting a battle on two fronts. An unrelated lawsuit has been filed in Michigan, involving the former head of the company’s North American casino studio, Antonio Amormino.
Amormino alleges in his00 lawsuit that Dror Damchinsky, LNW’s vice president for operations, asked him to falsify financial records on the company’s behalf.
Steve Ruddock, in his newsletter Straight to the Point, described the case as “a bit of a bombshell.” He relayed an SBC Americas report that Damchinsky requested that Amormino “alter the company budget tracking file,” specifically requesting “that he generate different numbers for the company’s capital asset reports, thereby attempting to present a false picture of the company’s financial condition.”
That story noted, “When Damchinsky allegedly said he would go to someone else in the organization to fulfill his request, Amormino said he took his complaints to Head of Accounting Vickie Huber and Office Manager Melissa Sly, who subsequently filed a compaint with human resources. Amormino said the internal investigation team ignored his concerns. In the ensuing days, Amormino said he was placed on administrative leave and subsequently terminated.”
Amormino’s court filing also contends that he was dismissed by LNW after filing an Occupational Safety and Health Administration complaint against it. He says that by firing him, the company violated the Whistleblower’s Protection Act that’s been part of Michigan law since 1980.
LNW is challenging that accusation and has filed to dismiss the case.
