Dan Bilzerian to Broken-Footed Porn Star: Don’t Even Try to Sue Me
Dan Bilzerian is the gift that just keeps on giving. It’s not like we in the poker world asked for this gift, but…it’s the thought that counts? He is poker’s equivalent of a Kardashian. He is often referred to as a poker pro, but really, he is a poker celebrity. He is famous for being famous.
As you may remember, Bilzerian made entertainment news headlines about a month ago when he hurled Janice Griffith, a porn actress, off a 30-foot high roof into a swimming pool during a Hustler magazine photo shoot. Now, nude woman tossing is not typically the most prudent of choices, but hey, if done in a safe and responsible way, who are we to judge someone’s idea of fun? Problem was, as you might expect, there was nothing safe or responsible about this and it resulted in Griffith breaking her foot when her entire body didn’t quite clear the edge of the pool.
In an interview with TMZ in the days following the incident, Griffith implied that she was looking into legal action, saying, “I am still sorting everything out. I can’t really go into details. My main concern is just getting back to work because I’ve had to cancel a couple of scenes because of this broken foot.”
Jean-Robert Bellande plays at Bilzerian’s Home game
It now appears that while she has not officially sued anybody, she has certainly threatened Dan Bilzerian with a court case. TMZ got a hold of a letter sent by Bilzerian’s lawyer, Tom Goldstein, to Griffith’s attorney, Shoham Solouki, in response to a communication Solouki sent to Goldstein. The details of Solouki’s letter are unknown, but the Goldstein letter than TMZ published made it pretty clear that Griffith was looking for a payday, as Goldstein wrote, “I am genuinely sorry that your client was hurt. No one wants to see anyone injured. But the suggestion that Mr. Bilzerian is responsible for that injury is embarrassing. I’m sorry she made you suggest it in writing.
“The whole tragi-comic thing is of course on tape. Given that you agreed to send Mr. Bilzerian a threat to sue, I can only assume you must not have seen it.”
The rest of Goldstein’s letter is incredible. The contempt is blinding. Goldstein lets Solouki know that Griffith was under contract with Hustler and agreed to go along with the stunt. She was not forced to do so. Goldstein wrote:
In all events, she agreed. Very few people I know would make that choice. But there it is. And chronologically, she’s an adult competent to make it. Hustler and your client asked Mr. Bilzerian to be the thrower, and we can all agree that was the better end of the deal.
She “assumed the risk,” Goldstein said, adding that “…like your client, the facts of the claim won’t, quite, fly.” Ohh…sick burn.
And it just keeps getting better:
But maybe I’m not creative enough. Maybe your client’s theory is that Mr. Bilzerian negligently violated the established standard of reasonable care for one who throws a porn actor off a roof into a pool during a photo shoot for an adult magazine. I’ll let that one sink in for a moment.
Bilzerian’s lawyer then reminds Griffith’s counsel that Griffith may have been the one at fault, as she grabbed hold of Bilzerian’s shirt as he launched her off the roof. Considering how close the throw was to completely succeeding, this shirt grab very well may have been the cause of the mishap.
Goldstein also mentions that Griffith sent at text to Bilzerian’s assistant shortly after the accident requested $85,000 for her injuries, leaving, “…the regrettable misimpression that she is nothing more than a crass opportunist.” He also says that if the monetary claim is supposedly to make up for missing work as the result of the broken foot, that notion is dubious. Goldstein perused her Twitter posts and, to his (shocked) eyes, “she does seem to be getting on,” and that her career has not been hurt at all.
Goldstein saves the best for last, though, saying:
If she sues, the complaint will be sanctionably frivolous. Your client should just box up almost every last bit of her property (please exclude all videos and photographs, as well as the seemingly inevitable small yappy dog) and drop it off with you in safe¬keeping for Mr. Bilzerian. After he receives the judgment in his favor, he will have it all delivered to him. Then he will probably blow it up with a mortar in the desert.
And concluding with a smirk, “I enjoyed our brief correspondence.”
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