Evolution accusers seek stay on identity revelation

An infamous report that knocked out a whopping $3bn share value from Evolution in 2021 has been a focal point for the company's legal efforts of late with a fresh twist in the ongoing saga.

Saga with Evolution’s accusers' identities takes a fresh turn

The company stood fast against multiple regulatory investigations, including that of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), which concluded that the report lacked substance. Evolution has been on the offensive ever since the report was released and circulated to the media four years ago.

Another regulator, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, arrived at a similar conclusion, finding no wrongdoing in Evolution’s conduct.

As noted previously, none of the regulators had found any evidence to suggest that the company had actively marketed or benefited from its products being used by unlicensed companies.

At the end of February, a New Jersey Superior Court judge ruled that Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP (CK), the company that represents the person or persons behind the damaging report, would need to reveal the identity of their clients.

The ruling was taken on Friday, February 28, and the judge gave the law firm a seven-day period to comply. However, Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP (CK) has responded with an emergency motion to the court on Monday, March 3, asking for a stay of the previous order.

Evolution will have to act quickly and oppose the motion today, and then an oral argument would have to be completed by the end of this week.

Should the stay filing fails, the identities of Evolution’s accusers will be finally revealed after more than three years of guesswork. As a clarification, the fact that Evolution may find out who the accusers are does not mean the company would necessarily release the information publicly.

In their filing, the law firm representing the anonymous defendants said that they would suffer substantial, immediate and irreparable harm absent a stay because:

"(i) it will be forced to disclose confidential client information, a disclosure that cannot be undone; and (ii) disclosure of the identities of the investigative firm and its client will moot appeal of the February 28 Order, thus insulating that ruling from appellate review."

The firm similarly insisted that granting the stay would also serve the public interest and protect attorney-client privilege.

Evolution has tried unearthing the identity of the accusers once before

Although there is a lot of trepidation about who the person or persons behind the report are, there is no guarantee that the public is much closer to finding out.

Evolution tried to unearth the accuser(s)’ identity back in 2022, but its efforts were stayed by the state’s Appellate Division, which said that a better understanding of the report itself would be needed to establish whether or not the company was right to demand the identities of its accusers.

With regulators now clearing Evolution, the firm is in a better position. It now depends on whether the new filing fails, and whether Evolution responds in time.

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