Court Denies Wynn Resorts' Motion Seeking to Sever And Delay Trial Of Elaine Wynn's Case

26/05/2016 17:43

LAS VEGAS, May 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Nevada state court judge Elizabeth Gonzalez denied Wynn Resorts' motion to sever, which had sought to indefinitely delay trial of Ms. Wynn's claims against Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stephen Wynn and Wynn Resorts. Ms. Wynn's litigation seeks to return control of substantial shares of Wynn Resorts stock owned by Ms. Wynn – a co-founder and major shareholder of the Company -- to her rather than remaining under the control of Mr. Wynn. The litigation cites, among other improper activities, ongoing reckless behavior of Wynn Resorts' senior management emanating from a tone at the top set by Mr. Wynn as the company's Chief Executive Officer and a significant lack of corporate governance at both the management and Board levels.

Wynn Resorts' now-denied motion to sever had sought to avoid and delay trial of Ms. Wynn's claims, which are scheduled to be heard by a jury this coming February. As Ms. Wynn's successful opposition to the motion states, "The Company and Mr. Wynn are clearly embarrassed by what they know the jury will hear, and hope to limit all such exposure. They have already twice cancelled Mr. Wynn's deposition, each time on less than 48 hours' notice. Yet, they continuously try to paint Ms. Wynn as trying to 'disrupt' and 'hijack' the case. The only party engaging in personal attacks is the Company, which in this case means Mr. Wynn. The Court has already made clear that this is not a family law case. It has allowed all claims against Mr. Wynn to proceed and, even as to the two claims that it recently dismissed, has allowed Ms. Wynn to replead."

"Ms. Wynn is seeking no more than the fundamental right to control her own property…Ms. Wynn's efforts to set the Company right and to assure that her largest assets are being competently and ethically managed are not a hijacking. They properly raise serious issues over corporate governance and internal controls that are required for all publicly traded companies and for which Ms. Wynn was punished for raising."

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