Big Black casino lawsuit moved to federal court

Paul Payne

Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2000 | 9:31 a.m.

JACKSON, Miss. - An attorney suing three Vicksburg casinos and a bank he accused of blocking a rival casino development along the Big Black River said he will ask to have the case returned to state court after defendants moved it to federal court late last month.

"We think we can get a fair trial in either place but we prefer state court," said McComb attorney Wayne Dowdy on Tuesday, who won $3 million in a previous suit against the companies. That trial was held in Pike County.

"We want it sent back," Dowdy said.

Dowdy filed the second suit Nov. 22 in Pike County.

But Jackson attorney David Kaufman, who represents Harrah's Vicksburg Corp., said he filed a notice of removal Dec. 30 which brought the case to the U.S. District Court in Jackson. The notice claims the case belongs in federal jurisdiction, Kaufman said.

"The case has no connection to Pike County," said Kaufman.

Dowdy said it should be heard in state court because Mississippi residents are suing a Mississippi company, Isle of Capri Casino Inc.

Kaufman disagrees.

The case mirrors a previous one late last year that resulted in a $3 million judgment against the same defendants: Ameristar Casinos Inc., Isle of Capri, Deposit Guaranty National Bank and Harrah's.

Ameristar and Harrah's are Nevada corporations and Deposit Guaranty is a subsidiary of Birmingham, Ala.-based AmSouth Bancorporation, Dowdy said.

Federal court can only take cases when all defendants are from states different than the plaintiffs, Dowdy said.

Kaufman said Harrah's initial loss in Pike County did not influence the decision to move the second trial to the federal court in Jackson.

A federal judge will review Dowdy's petition to bring the case back to state court and make a decision, Dowdy said.

After that, the two sides will meet with court officials to decide when the case can go to trial, Kaufman said.

Kaufman said the complexity of the case could push it back to next year.

"It quite possibly won't come to trial this year," Kaufman said.

Dowdy represents Walter H. Gibbes Jr. and Margaret S. Dozier, both of whom owned interest in property on which the Big Black casino would have been built.

The Mississippi Gaming Commission rejected Horsehoe Gaming's Big Black application in 1996.

According to the suit, which represents only one side of a legal argument, the defendants "attempted to restrain the freedom of trade," the same charge made in the previous case. Gibbes claims $3.3 million in actual damages, Dozier $1.26 million.

Previously, Dowdy and Clinton attorney Bill Spell represented Warren County landowner E.L. Pennebaker and casino developer Jim Belisle. They said the Vicksburg casinos and the bank conspired to persuade state gaming commissioners to deny an application for a casino on Big Black between Jackson and Vicksburg.

A jury found for the plaintiffs after a two-week trial in October. The defendants have appealed.

In the Pennebaker case, the defendants said they exercised their constitutional right to free speech in opposing the Big Black site, which they said was unsuitable for a variety of reasons including environmental and historical.