Gencon Sued by LucasFilm (over Star Wars Celebration Make-a-Wish auction)

[sirwmholder]

... "Innocent until proven guilty" is a great mantra, but it's important to practice that mantra...

Only applies to criminal cases in the good ol' US of A... civil cases are structured very differently.

William Holder

 

[Deset Gled]

Only applies to criminal cases in the good ol' US of A... civil cases are structured very differently.

William Holder

To expand on this, "innocent until proven guilty" doesn't apply to civil cases because no one is innocent or guilty in a civil case. The judgement is in favor of one side or the other, but "guilt" is not literally assigned. However, the initial "burden of proof" is on the plaintiff's (complainer's) side. The defendent also has their own "burden of proof" for any affirmative defenses they claim.

On a similar note, "innocent until proven guilty" is an abstraction in American law, partially because no one is ever found "innocent". They can only be found "not guilty".

 

[Contrarian]

I think we just found out how Gen Con LLC is going to deal with this: Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

http://community.gencon.com/forums/thread/167900.aspx

 

[frankthedm]

Could we get a copypasta of the relevant data? Forum seems members only.

 

[Truth Seeker]

Request Granted...

Gen Con Files for Chapter 11

SEATTLE (February 15, 2008) Gen Con LLC announced today that it has filed for Chapter 11 protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the State of Washington. This action became necessary as a result of significant unforeseen expenses associated with attempts to expand its core business to encompass externally licensed events. Gen Con’s flagship show, Gen Con Indy, remains a vibrant, profitable event. Gen Con Indy will take place as scheduled August 14–17, 2008, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The protections afforded by Chapter 11 will allow Gen Con to further its efforts to address its liquidity needs, preserve value for its creditors and explore strategic alternatives for the business. “Because the fundamentals of our business are strong; and because our debt problems are challenges mostly linked to one-time events, we feel confident that the profile of our company will benefit under Chapter 11 and come out strong in the end,” said Peter D. Adkison, CEO of Gen Con.

Chapter 11 refers to the section of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code that provides for court-supervised restructuring of companies as they continue to operate normally. This proceeding is intended to help companies to become stronger financially.

Gen Con LLC will continue to operate without interruption during this process and looks forward to an expeditious resolution to the short-term challenges and the ability to focus entirely on producing Gen Con Indy, The Best Four Days in Gaming. International Gen Con events are unaffected by this situation and will continue to operate as scheduled.

Could we get a copypasta of the relevant data? Forum seems members only.

 

[frankthedm]

Thanks

 

[DonTadow]

This simply proves my point i've been making for the last 3 years, that ever sense good ole pete took over it seems gencon hasn't improved. To drive a company like gencon into bankrupcy really shows that a ton of mistakes have and were continuiously made over the years. From customer service (this year i wanted to spend 500 dollars and didn't get a response back for a week... lets say that i changed my mind), to techical snafus ( will always remember my times as one of the 300), to trying to expand too much and ignoring Indy. (gencon hong kong anyone?)

 

[smootrk]

I would not be surprised if GenCon is over now. Taking cash for a charity (a substantial amount mind you), not paying it out, getting sued over it, and ultimately deciding to file bankruptcy rather than paying it back.... wow.

I doubt you will see me supporting that kind of organization any time soon. A completely new organization will probably need to fill that void, lest similar practices continue with that organization's team.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

Sounds like GenCon was having cash flow problems and used the auction money (peter) to pay paul. And they got caught.

If that's the case (a big if), then it may not be as nefarious as a straight ripoff would have been, but it still shows very poor business decision-making skills (not to mention ethics) and at the very least the person(s) responsible should be replaced.

The bankruptcy thing makes more sense if they were having cash flow problems. Getting caught was just the final nail in the coffin.

A real black eye on the gaming industry... :\

 

[Steel_Wind]

Yeah, I failed my read PDF check and had to post the rest later in the thread. They are also suing for $150,000 for conversion, and another $150,000 for unfair enrichment. So the total is $950,000 plus interest.

Not really. It's 650k.

1) 500k for breach of the main contract; and

2) 150k, liability for which is reached in three ways:

a) breach of contract,
b) tort: conversion (that's the tort of "theft")
c) and in equity: unjust enrichment.

That's three claims all concerning the same 150k. You cannot get double recovery (or triple) for the same dollar.

Then its claims for costs, interest and punitives. Given the Make-A-Wish allegations and claims founded in tort and equity, punitives are not a mere throwaway in this case.