Gambling suit against Eugene Melnyk split into pieces
Senators owner's legal team asked for 5 bank drafts to be treated separately
The legal team for Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk has moved to have the dispute over a $900,000 gambling loss divided into five separate counts.
A lawsuit filed on July 9 by the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn., alleges Melnyk tried to pay the debt with five bank drafts totalling $900,000 over the weekend of March 17, 2017, but those drafts were later "dishonoured" by a bank.
According to a statement of defence filed by Melnyk's lawyers last week, the casino refused to cash his chips when asked and "induced" him to continue gambling, which led to the loss.
His team later asked the casino to change its complaint from a single loss of $900,000 to five, representing four $200,000 bank drafts and one $100,000 draft.
"The drafts may have been made under different circumstances and presented to the drawee bank at different times under different circumstances.… Thus, [the] Defendant may plead differently according to which draft is at issue," said the request.
Court records show that request was filed Friday and those revised documents splitting the complaint were filed Monday.
The next event in the court calendar is scheduled for Oct. 15.