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Jordan Matthews (attorney)

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Jordan Matthews (born 1984) is an American business and entertainment lawyer known for handling several cases against Wynn Las Vegas and Steve Wynn. He is a partner at Weinberg Gonser LLP.[1]

Matthews is known for his aggressive litigation style, and was featured by the LA Times in 2024 as an entertainment business visionary.[2]. He represents many high-profile individuals and companies in the entertainment industry, including actors, producers, directors and influencers, and otherwise handles high-profile, bet-the-company litigation.

Early life and education

Matthews was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and attended Community Day School with Bari Weiss. He was discovered by Stella Adler's grandson, Tom Oppenheim.[3]

Steve Wynn lawsuits

In 2018, Matthews filed suit against Wynn Las Vegas and Steve Wynn on behalf of Angelica Limcaco, a former salon manager at Wynn Las Vegas. Limcaco claimed that she was fired, blacklisted and intimidated into silence after she elevated her concerns about sexual assault in 2006 to then-president of Wynn Las Vegas, Andrew Pascal. The federal case followed a report by the Wall Street Journal in January 2018, that uncovered allegations of sexual misconduct against Steve Wynn. The allegations revealed that Steve Wynn entered into a confidential $7.5 million settlement with a manicurist in 2005, who reported that she had been raped and impregnated by Steve Wynn. Limcaco was the salon manager who reported the rape allegation to human resources, but was threatened to remain silent about the incident.[4]

Limcaco's case was appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after Judge Miranda Du ruled in favor of Wynn Las Vegas holding that the claim was not made within the statute of limitations. Matthews argued that the time limits should not apply because Limcaco feared for her personal safety. Matthews filed a petition with the Ninth Circuit in March 2020 questioning the Nevada District Court's selection of Elayna Youchah, an attorney for Wynn Resorts, as a magistrate judge.[5]

Limcaco filed a civil RICO claim against Steve Wynn, Matthew Maddox, Barbara Buckley and others in California in 2020 related to Wynn's casino licenses with Encore Boston Harbor and a probe by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.[6] The RICO case made allegations of bribery and alleged incidents tied to the Sicilian Mafia in Boston.[7] The case was appealed to the Ninth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals.[8] The RICO case alleged a pattern of influence and was tied to former Wynn Resorts executive, Gamal Aziz, being found guilty of honest services fraud in the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal. The indictment of Elliott Broidy for his involvement in the 1MDB scandal was also tied to the case.[9] In April 2020, the Ninth Circuit denied a motion by Wynn attempting to dismiss the appeal.[10]

In May 2022, the United States Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit against Steve Wynn for allegedly violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Wynn was accused of attempting to improperly influence Donald Trump to extradite Chinese dissident Guo Wengui. Wynn was accused of taking these steps on behalf of the Chinese government to protect his business interests in China.[11] Matthews' RICO case coincided with the case filed by the Department of Justice with Matthews arguing that Wynn engaged in a "pattern of improper influence to protect business interests in the gaming industry.".[12]. The case filed by the Department of Justice was later dismissed on a technicality with the judge ruling that Steve Wynn had no present obligation to register under FARA. A federal appeals court affirmed the decision.[13]

In July 2022, Sun Lijun, China's ex-public security minister (who was the alleged point-of-contact for Steve Wynn in the alleged effort to influence the Trump Administration) pled guilty to accepting about $96.3 million in bribes related to selling government positions.[14]

In December 2022, Matthews argued before a panel of judges, including Ryan D. Nelson in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, clashing with Wynn Resorts' attorneys over claims of improper influence.[15]

In April 2023, Matthews sought review by the Supreme Court of the United States.[16]

In July 2023, Steve Wynn agreed to pay a $10 million fine to the Nevada Gaming Control Board in connection with claims arising out of Limcaco's complaint.[17]

Matthews' five-year litigation with Steve Wynn, largely over the issue of the statute of limitations, coincided with landmark changes in legislation, including the passage of the New York Adult Survivors Act, and Assembly Bills 218 and 2777 in the state of California, which extended the statute of limitations on sexual assault cases. The legislation was used to pursue numerous high-profile cases that were otherwise barred by the statute of limitations, including cases against Sean Combs, Mike Tyson, Jamie Foxx, Jimmy Iovine and others.[18]

Bell-Carter lawsuit

In March 2020, Matthews filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Bell-Carter Foods and DCOOP Group of Spain, the world's largest cooperative of olive growers, related to the Trump administration's trade tariffs against Spanish imports.[19]

Deja Riley lawsuit

In April, 2021, Matthews filed suit against Teddy Riley's daughter, Deja Riley, a fitness celebrity.[20]. The case involves celebrity influencer, YesJulz, who ran various social media campaigns for Kanye West, until she split with West around March 2024.[21]

Nichelle Nichols lawsuit

Matthews is listed in court records as Kyle Johnson's attorney in a long-running dispute with Nichelle Nichols' former manager, Gilbert Bell. Nichols was an American actress, singer and dancer whose portrayal of Uhura in Star Trek and its film sequels was groundbreaking for African American actresses on American television. Johnson is Nichols' son and is listed in court documents as the conservator of her estate.[22]

Johnson filed for conservatorship in 2018. Before a court granted his petition in January 2019, Nichols' friend Angelique Fawcette, who had already expressed concern in 2017 over Bell's control of access to her, pressed for visitation rights. A 2019 court case by Bell over being evicted from the guesthouse on Nichols' property includes allegations that Bell misused Nichols' assets.[23]

Bell filed for bankruptcy in October, 2023.[24]

Awards

In 2023, Matthews was named by the Los Angeles Times as a legal visionary.[25]

In 2024, Matthews was named by the Los Angeles Times as an entertainment business visionary.[26]

Film

Matthews was previously an actor and starred in the movie Fading of the Cries with Brad Dourif and Thomas Ian Nicholas.[27] The movie also starred Mackenzie Rosman from 7th Heaven.[28] The film was released by Lionsgate and was panned by critics.[29][30]

In 2009, The Hollywood Reporter announced that he was set to star opposite Elaine Hendrix in Brian A. Metcalf's movie "Eve".[31][32]

In 2012, Matthews was linked to a film fund backing a mini-series from Walter Isaacson's book "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life."[33][34] Alec Baldwin was set to star and the series never got made, but was revealed in soap star Katherine Kelly Lang's divorce.[35]

Matthews' companies were linked to film financing deals with several movie studios, including Ryan Kavanaugh's Relativity Media.[36]

Author

Matthews is the author of the book "Failure: When You Have Nothing You Have Everything."[37]

References

  1. ^ "Jordan Matthews".
  2. ^ "Jordan Matthews". Los Angeles Times.
  3. ^ "Jordan Matthews - IMDb". IMDb.
  4. ^ Berzon, Alexandra (2018-01-27). "Dozens of People Recount Pattern of Sexual Misconduct by Las Vegas Mogul Steve Wynn". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
  5. ^ Brewer, Contessa (2020-03-11). "Wynn whistleblower argues she can't get a fair shake in court". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
  6. ^ Lochhead, Colton (2021-11-09). "California judge tosses lawsuit against Steve Wynn, executives". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
  7. ^ Cruz, Adrian (2020-12-17). "Corrected:Steve Wynn Dodged Rape Suit With Bribery, Ex-Worker Says". law360. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  8. ^ Gibbs, Erik (2021-11-10). "Steve Wynn and Wynn Resorts Saved once Again By Court Judge". Gambling News. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  9. ^ "Weinberg Gonser Frost Files "Extensive" Appeal in Limcaco v. Wynn Civil RICO Ruling With 9th Circuit, Citing Investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice". Yahoo! Finance. 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  10. ^ Conneller, Philip (2022-04-25). "Federal Appeals Court Won't Toss RICO Case Vs. Steve Wynn, Wynn Resorts". casino.org. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  11. ^ Chokshi, Niraj (2022-05-17). "U.S. Accuses Steve Wynn of Lobbying Trump on Behalf of China". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-05-28.
  12. ^ Helling, Derek (2022-05-26). "DOJ Filing Against Steve Wynn Creates Wrinkle In RICO Claims As Lawyers Settle Defamation Lawsuit". PlayUSA. Retrieved 2022-05-28.
  13. ^ Giorno, Taylor (2024-06-14). "Justice Department loses foreign agent case against casino mogul Steve Wynn".
  14. ^ Thompsett, Louis (2022-07-21). "Exclusive - Jordan Matthews: Steve Wynn allegedly used "improper influence" from China to lobby Donald Trump". Gambling Insider. Retrieved 2022-08-14.
  15. ^ Rybaltowski, Matt (2022-12-07). "Attorneys Clash On 'Improper Influence Claims In Appeal Of RICO Charges Against Steve Wynn". US Bets. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  16. ^ Hanson, Joyce (2023-04-13). "Ex-Wynn Resorts Worker Seeks High Court Look At RICO Row". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  17. ^ Stutz, Howard (2023-07-19). "Steve Wynn to pay a $10 million fine to settle a 4-year-old complaint with Nevada gaming regulators". The Nevada Independent. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  18. ^ Cowen, Trace (2023-11-29). "Adult Survivors Act: Diddy, Mike Tyson, Jamie Foxx, Jimmy Iovine and More Sued for Sexual Offenses". Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  19. ^ Yeager, Joshua (2019-03-18). "'Tariff loophole' blamed in $40 million loss to olive farmers in Tulare County". Visalia Times Delta. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  20. ^ "Simmons Unlimited, LLC v. Riley Izydorczyk et al".
  21. ^ Shifferaw, Abel. "Kanye Fires YesJulz Amid 'Vulture' Rollout, Says 'Activity on Her Page and with Our Fans' was 'Unauthorized'". Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  22. ^ "Gilbert Bell v. Kyle Johnson".
  23. ^ Easter, Makeda (August 15, 2021). "Inside the heartbreaking conservatorship battle of a 'Star Trek' legend". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  24. ^ "Legal Battle Between Nichelle Nichols' Son, Ex-Manager Put on Hold". My News LA.com. October 17, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  25. ^ "Jordan Matthews biography". Los Angeles Times.
  26. ^ "Jordan Matthews". Los Angeles Times.
  27. ^ Zeitchik, Steven (2008-07-14). "Brian Metcalf to helm 'Cries'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
  28. ^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (2011-07-02). "Horror, Romance and Wizards". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  29. ^ Schenker, Andrew (2011-07-06). "The Undead Seek Revenge, Generally, in Fading of the Cries". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
  30. ^ Robert Abele (July 6, 2011). "Movie review: 'Fading of the Cries'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2016-08-26.
  31. ^ "Ratio Pictures tracking down 'Eve'". The Hollywood Reporter. 2009-03-31. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  32. ^ Parker, Cat (2009-03-30). "Ratio Picture Tracking Down Eve". movieweb.com. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  33. ^ "Group Community Entertainment Raises $45M For Film/TV Projects". Deadline Hollywood. 2012-02-12. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  34. ^ "Jordan Matthews - IMDb - Publicity". IMDb.
  35. ^ "Ben Franklin Movie Plans REVEALED IN SOAP STAR'S DIVORCE". TMZ. 2014-06-14. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  36. ^ Robehmed, Natalie (2015-04-07). "Billionaire Ryan Kavanaugh's Relativity Media Raises $250 Million". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  37. ^ "Jordan Matthews Failure: When You Have Nothing You Have Everything". Apple. 2022-04-22. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
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