Todd Witteles announced this weekend that he is filing an anti-SLAPP motion against Mike Postle.
Witteles tweeted about the matter saying, "For those interested, here is the anti-SLAPP motion we filed against Mike Postle in Sacramento Court [...] This will get us a judgment for attorney's fees if we win. Hearing on Feb 10."
The filed motion makes the case that "[Postle]’s complaint and each cause of action alleged therein, against Witteles arises from acts of Witteles in furtherance of his right of free speech [...]. And [Postle] cannot establish that there is a probability that he will prevail on his claims."
If they win, Postle could be looking at a bill for Witteles lawyer's fees. Witteles estimates it could be five figures. One can see the climax Postle was planning for his documentary falling apart before our very eyes.
Strategically, the timing seems more or less perfect for a move like this.
Postle's own defense team has just filed a petition in the courts requesting that they be allowed to back out of the case. The defense team cites the lack of payment and communication from Postle as the main reasons.
The erratic strategy
From the start, Postle's legal strategies have been hard to parse. First, he tried to defend himself. Then the court forced him to use representation. Then he filed repeatedly to have his defense lawyer fired.
In the end, it was not evidence but a quirk of California law that saved him from even having to fight his case. The court dismissed the case and Postle went quiet. Apart from some suspected dummy accounts on Twitter. These too have gone quiet since Postle filed his libel suit.
Postle's co-defendants, Stones Gambling Hall and Justing Kuraitis have been more or less cleared of charges against them. But Postle himself was notably left out of the settlement wording.
The accusations of his cheating have not been addressed.
So his decision to file a $330 million dollar lawsuit was built on sand. And it looks like Witteles is not averse to kicking some of it into Postle's eyes.
What next?
So far none of the other defendants have been served regarding Postle's suit. And as a result, according to Witteles, his is the first anti-SLAPP request brought in the case.
If Witteles succeeds and the case is knocked down without a fight, many in the poker world will be a little disappointed. Postle's libel suit was viewed by many, including myself, as an opportunity to give the evidence a thorough forensic airing.
Witteles's anti-SLAPP case will be heard on February 10th, 2021. We'll have more on the story then.
Featured image source: Twitter
