The woman who filed a class action lawsuit against DraftKings in New York is no longer pursuing her case.
Samantha Guery filed the suit in April of this year, alleging that DraftKings was engaging in deceptive and fraudulent advertising with its now-defunct “risk-free” promotional first bet.
Guery argued that the free bet did not equal the amount of the initial wager, thus, DraftKings was misleading customers that there was no risk with the first wager.
Plaintiff had stopped communicating with legal team
Since filing the lawsuit, Guery has apparently been very difficult to contact. Earlier this month, her attorneys informed the court they attempted to contact her nine different times over the course of a couple of weeks with no response. In court communication, the attorneys alluded to health issues involving Guery.
With Guery not responding, DraftKings requested an extension to file its response to the initial complaint.
“While DraftKings does not oppose counsel’s motion to withdraw in principle, we are reluctant to incur expenses further litigating a case with a nonresponsive, unrepresented Plaintiff who lacks standing to bring this suit,” DraftKings told the court.
Since their client was not responsive, the lawyers representing Guery asked to be relieved from the case. Guery eventually got in contact with counsel and agreed to file a motion to voluntarily dismiss the case. Guery’s case will be dismissed with prejudice but others in the class can still pursue the issue if they see fit.
Massachusetts class action against DraftKings still active
This is not the only class action debating the legality of the promotional offer from DraftKings. In an unrelated case in Massachusetts, a case is litigating the same issue and continues to move forward. That case, backed by the Public Health Advocacy Institute, had no relation or overlap with the Guery case.
The Massachusetts case held a hearing on the matter on July 25 which the presiding judge is currently taking under consideration.
SBC Americas reached out to DraftKings about the Guery case but has yet to receive a response.