New Jersey Court Dismisses Compulsive Gambling Lawsuit
In a decision released in mid-September, U.S. District Judge Renee Marie Bumb dismissed a 12-count complaint brought by a self-described compulsive gambler against six New Jersey casinos and two individuals. Arelia Taveras accused Resorts, Bally's, Showboat, and the three Trump Entertainment properties of encouraging her gambling addiction and inducing her to gamble excessively. Judge Bumb found that Taveras presented no claim on which relief ultimately could be granted, and dismissed the lawsuit under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b). Taveras v. Resorts International Hotel, Inc., Civ. No. 07-4555 (D.N.J., September 19, 2008).
Taveras, a lawyer who represented herself in the lawsuit, underwent nine months of inpatient treatment for her gambling addiction and was disbarred in New York for stealing money from her clients' escrow accounts. Her Complaint included several tort claims that hinged on the theory that the casinos owed her a duty of care to ensure that she did not gamble too much. She also claimed that the casinos breached their implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and violated the federal Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
Judge Bumb acknowledged that New Jersey courts have not ruled whether casinos have a duty of care to "rescue compulsive gamblers from themselves," but had no difficulty finding that the "great weight of authority" rejects that claim. The court emphasized that New Jersey law does not impose such a duty even though it creates a "vast regulatory scheme" for the casino industry. Noting that the plaintiff's claim "would impose a duty on shopping malls and credit-card companies to identify and exclude compulsive shoppers," Judge Bumb refused to "sacrifice common sense and stretch the common-law duty of care as the Plaintiff urges."
The court also rejected Taveras' theory that gambling is an ultrahazardous activity for which strict liability should apply: "Playing blackjack, roulette, or the slots bears no likeness to dumping toxic waste into environmentally sensitive areas, demolition of buildings in populated areas, and transportation of highly flammable substances."
Turning to Taveras' contract claims, Judge Bumb ruled that the gambler had no actual agreement with the casinos that controlled her gambling activity. The judge dismissed the RICO claim for failure to plead the casinos' alleged fraudulent conduct with sufficient specificity under Rule 9(b).
Two casinos (Bally's and Showboat) successfully argued that they were not adequately served with the complaint.
