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No on 6 Committee, Penn National Charge Issue 6 Proponents with Defamation, Libel, Slander, Deceptive Trade Practices and False Advertising |
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Court filing also denies proponents' claims in earlier lawsuit |
Opponents of State Issue 6 have charged the promoters of a proposed Clinton County casino with defamation, libel and slander, deceptive trade practices, false advertising, and abuse of the legal process. They also denied the claims the issue's proponents made in a lawsuit they filed last week.
The answer and counterclaim were filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court late Tuesday by the No on 6 Committee and Penn National Gaming, Inc. Indiana Gaming Co., the company that operates the Argosy Casino in Lawrenceburg, IN, also joined the suit as a counterclaimant. The No on 6 Committee and Penn National were named as defendants in the suit filed by My Ohio Now Political Action Committee and Blue Water Joint Venture, LLC.
The counterclaim adds four new parties to the case: Lakes Entertainment, Inc., the Minnesota company that would operate the proposed Issue 6 casino, Lyle Berman, Lakes' CEO, and Ricky Lertzman and Brad Pressman, the principals in My Ohio Now.
The No on 6 Committee, Penn and Argosy denied the claims in the original lawsuit, and in their counterclaim alleged that the defendants had:
-- Intentionally and maliciously published false and misleading statements with "specific willful and malicious intent to injure them",
-- Committed deceptive trade practices by disparaging their business by false representation and misrepresented their own goods and services, both in violation of Ohio law,
-- Violated federal law (The Lanham Act) that prohibits false or misleading descriptions or representations of fact in commercial advertising or promotion,
-- Abused the legal process by filing their lawsuit "with and for ulterior motives and improper purposes . . . to mislead Ohio voters" and harm their reputations and businesses.
In disputing the charges made in the original lawsuit, the No on 6 Committee and Penn used the actual language of the proposed Constitutional amendment to demonstrate again that Issue 6 contains a loophole that could allow the proposed casino's tax rate to drop to between 25 percent and zero, that the proposed amendment does not establish a set 30 percent tax on casino revenues as the proponents have claimed, and that "nothing in the language of Issue 6 prevents the individuals or entities operating or controlling the proposed Ohio casino from taking the profits . . . out of Ohio."
In their filing, No on 6 and Penn National also argue that:
-- There is no language in Issue 6 that expressly prohibits the proposed casino from employing criminals.
-- Public records of the Securities and Exchange Commission and other public documents prove statements in the No on 6 advertising that relate to Berman's involvement in the bankruptcy of the Stratosphere Casino in Las Vegas in 1996.
-- None of the No on 6 Ads produced against Issue 6 are false, misleading or deceptive.
-- The advertising and public statements made by the proponents of Issue 6 are in themselves misleading and deceptive.
Paid for by No on 6 Committee, Andy Bowers, Treasurer, 612 N. Park St., Suite 200, Columbus OH 43215
Source: No on 6 Committee
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