Gambler aims to revive harassment suit against Vegas casino

LAS VEGAS (CN) — An attorney for a Las Vegas gambler argued Monday before a Ninth Circuit panel that his client had no unfair advantage when making his arguments against a casino and that a lower court erred in dismissing his claim.

Attorney Mitchell Keiter, representing Robert “R.J.” Cipriani, told the three-judge panel that the lower court relied on “judicial estoppel” in dismissing his claim with prejudice. That doctrine prohibits people taking one position, then later trying to take an inconsistent stance to gain an advantage in court.

At issue is harassment Cipriani claimed he suffered for weeks at the Las Vegas strip casino. He’d complained about another person gambling at the resort, saying he’d pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges and shouldn’t be allowed to gamble. In return, that man harassed Cipriani for weeks.

It culminated on Nov. 19, 2021, when Cipriani took the other man’s cellphone and gave it to a casino security guard. Arrested that day, Cipriani later filed suit, arguing Resorts World Las Vegas and Scott Sibella, the resort’s former president, encouraged or allowed the harassment.

In its dismissal of Cipriani’s case, the lower court said that he removed certain accusations when he amended his initial suit.

The appeals panel made no decision on Monday, instead taking the issue under submission.

“After whittling down Cipriani’s claims through application of the doctrine of judicial estoppel, Cipriani is left only with his allegations that defendants let [the man] harass him and maneuver his scooter too close to him,” the lower court said, adding later: “Thus … he is judicially estopped from pursuing any of his claims against Resorts World.”

On Monday, Keiter focused on his client’s claim that the harassment occurred for weeks before Nov. 19, 2021. That claim never changed, and the defendants’ belated attempts to stop it don’t absolve them from it occurring.

“The dates matter,” he said. “They allowed it for several weeks and then it got out of hand.”

Also, Keiter said his client never changed his position that the other man was banned from Resorts World. That argument gives Cipriani no unfair advantage in court, meaning judicial estoppel is an improper lynchpin for the lower court’s decision.

Representing Resorts World, attorney Tamara Beatty Peterson said Cipriani’s accusations changed from his initial complaint to the amended one. Claims of emotional distress changed to a claim of damages for his unjustified arrest, baseless criminal charges and his inability to be a professional gambler.

“What is the unfair advantage here?” asked U.S. Circuit Judge Gabriel Sanchez, a Joe Biden appointee.

Peterson argued that Cipriani made different accusations at varying times. In one filing, he claimed Resorts World did nothing. In another, he said the casino had issued a trespass against the man Cipriani claimed harassed him.

In another example, Cipriani said Sibella caused him distress. However, in a different filing Cipriani argued the other man and his son caused the distress, Peterson said.

Sanchez said that someone must get an unfair advantage out of inconsistent pleadings for judicial estoppel to trigger.

“I’m still struggling to find out what that advantage is,” he added.

Pivoting to Sibella, attorney Colby Williams — who represents the former Resorts World president — focused on two claims against his client: negligence and innkeeper liability.

Williams argued Cipriani failed to address negligence in a legal filing, which means he forfeited that claim.

For the innkeeper liability claim to stick, Sibella must have been the owner or keeper of Resorts World. He was neither, Williams said.

“The defendants have always been the corporate-owned entities,” Williams said of similar cases.

Resorts World is a massive property on the strip requiring thousands of people to operate, Williams said. Arguably, any one of them could be considered an innkeeper.

Keiter countered that Sibella qualified as an innkeeper as he had authority and control over decisions Resort World made.

The appeals panel was rounded out by U.S. Circuit Judges Mark Bennett, a Donald Trump appointee, and Holly Thomas, a Biden appointee.