The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled a $10-million settlement awarded a casino consultant in a dispute with a developer is all the company can collect. Signature Management Group successfully sued Wild Rose Entertainment and developer Gary Kirke after Wild Rose received a gaming license for a casino in Emmetsburg in 2005, and then terminated its consulting contract with Signature.
The court ruled the action by Wild Rose was a breach of contract and awarded the $10-million to Signature. While the Emmetsburg lawsuit was still going on, the Racing and Gaming Commission awarded a license to Wild Rose to build another casino in Clinton.
Signature then sued, saying the contract with Wild Rose included any casino development and the company should also be compensated for a breach of contract in the Clinton casino development. The district and appeals courts ruled settlement over the Emmetsburg casino precluded any further court action against Wild Rose.
The Iowa Supreme Court reviewed the lower court rulings and found that Signature knew that Wild Rose had won a license for the Clinton casino before the Emmetsburg case was decided, and had plenty of time to amend the case to seek additional damages. But since Signature did not amend its case, the Supreme Court says it did not find any reason to approve a new lawsuit.
