The court of the Eastern District of New York is going to let Steven Jacobs move forward with most of his lawsuit against DraftKings.
Jacobs originally filed the suit against the operator in June of last year, alleging that the company conspired with Oscasr Jones and Gadoon “Spanky” Kyrollos to extort, threaten and defraud Jacobs.
DraftKings allegedly aided extortion attempt
In the original complaint, Jacobs alleged that DraftKings released his personal information to Kyrollos so he could send a mask man to where Jacobs lived and threaten and demand he pay Kyrollos $500,000.
In a Twitter post, Kyrollos said he was “bluffing” when he told Jacobs he would connect with DraftKings employees at an upcoming sports betting conference and obtain his account and personal information, that alleged relationship proved material to the judge’s decision the case could largely move forward.
Judge Natasha C. Merle concluded that, since the alleged conversation between DraftKings employees and Kyrollos could arguably have taken place in a work context given it was at a conference, Jacobs’ charges of aiding and abetting battery.
Judge concludes DraftKings didn’t intentionally cause distress
However, Merle did not think Jacobs made a sufficient argument that DraftKings was accountable for the intentional infliction of emotional distress. The bar for emotional distress is “extremely high” and must show that DraftKings intended to cause the distress, which Jacobs failed to do.
A separate law suit in New York state court pertains to the case in that it explains why Jones and Kyrollos would be allegedly threatening Jacobs. Jones sued Jacobs, claiming Jacobs and Jones reached an agreement for Jacobs to beard for Jones on DraftKings. Jones claimed that partnership produced $500,000 in profits that Jacobs refused to split.
Originally, Jones lost his suit and the courts ruled Jones owed Jacobs $250,000 for violating a signed agreement he would not pursue legal action against him.
In late January, the Supreme Court vacated the dismissal of Jones’ case, voided the $250,000 decision and reopened the case, however Jones later withdrew the case. However, he did refile the charges in Queens County on March 7.
