Alleged cheater Mike Postle is going after whistleblower Veronica Brill in a defamation suit filed last week. A slew of other people and organizations are also named in the filing including ESPN, Daniel Negreanu, Doug Polk, and Joey Ingram.
The case came to light when Todd Witeles Tweeted: “Mike Postle is suing me,[and others] for defamation. Suit is obviously frivolous and I will fight it.”
In response, the poker world donated $25,216 (and counting) to Veronica Brill’s gofundme for a defense fund this weekend. It took less than two days to raise that money. That figure only includes gofundme donations, not those monies that were sent directly to Brill.
Postle's move
Postle’s confidence was no doubt bolstered by the settlement reached in the Stones Gambling Hall/Kuraitis case. As part of the settlement Mac Verstandig, lawyer for the plaintiffs in that case, signed a statement largely absolving Stones of wrongdoing.
However, he made it pointedly clear in a separate article that he had not mentioned Mike Postle for a reason. Verstandig wrote: “The statement is notably silent as to Mr. Postle. This is neither coincidence nor drafting error.”
This appears to imply that Verstandig, at least, still views Postle as guilty on the basis of the evidence he has seen.
That hasn’t discouraged Postle, who according to a Tweet by journalist Brendan Koener “could be seeking damages in excess of $300 million.”
Community matters
Seeing someone come after one of their own, the poker world responded with massive support for Brill.
Barney Boatman Tweeted "It’s brave to take a stand, and scary to be sued. Let’s show [Brill] that we have her back, and that we appreciate her having ours."
Bill Perkins was willing to chip in whatever amount everyone else didn't. He Tweeted that he's "got the balance."
James C, donating on gofundme, took a harder line with simply, "Bury that mofo"
What next?
Although the defendants can group together if it goes to trial, they have to file anti-SLAPP requests separately. Brill lists the cost for this as $20,000.
The fund has exceeded that amount, so Brill's gofundme page breaks down the use of the funds in detail.
“Mike Postle got caught cheating in poker and is now suing me for being the whistleblower. He is also suing ESPN, [etc...]. I need to raise money for my own defense as we all need to file Anti-Slapp separately and that costs $20,000 [...] Any money raised and not used for legal expenses, I will be giving to KL Cleeton towards the van that we have been trying to get for him.”
More intriguing than dismissal at the anti-SLAPP phase is the possibility that Witteles is wrong and this doesn’t get thrown out of court for being “frivolous.” In that case, the poker world would get to see a real trial of the facts in Postlegate. The cheating allegations have not been tested in court as yet. And so the story remains very much up in the air.
If the court doesn’t (anti-)SLAPP his lawsuit down, and if this goes to discovery, Postle may find himself defending against these charges for real.
This is a real possibility, with Brill writing, “If I raise enough I will consider accepting the suit and moving forward with discovery.”
What happens then will be up to the lawyers.
