Discovery in Texas
Friday, September 1, 2006
A federal judge in Texas has ordered limited discovery on jurisdictional matters in Wells v. SmithKlineBeecham Corp., et al., No. A-06-CA-126-LY (W.D. Tex.). The plaintiff, Dr. Max Wells, has sued a pharmaceutical company and six Nevada-based casinos for allowing him to gamble at times when medication for Parkinson's supposedly made him susceptible to compulsive behaviors. He has claimed over $14 million in gambling losses.
The casino defendants have moved to dismiss the lawsuit as unsupported under Nevada law and to transfer it to Nevada federal court. Rather than rule on those motions, Judge Lee Yeakel on September 1 allowed Dr. Wells to acquire documents relating to the casino defendants' business connections to Texas.
