Steve Wynn
Joe Francis, producer of the "Girls Gone Wild" franchise
Casino giant Wynn Las Vegas LLC is moving to garnish certain assets of "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis as their fight over a $2 million gambling debt heats up.
Wynn this week filed a lawsuit in Las Vegas against Francis, his attorney David Houston of Reno and several Francis companies in the garnishment effort.
The suit was filed under seal, or at least temporarily hidden from public inspection.
But two related unsealed court documents indicate the garnishment attempt is related to other lawsuits pitting Francis against Wynn and company CEO Steve Wynn.
In October, the Nevada Supreme Court upheld Wynn’s $2 million judgment against Francis over the unpaid debt, called a marker, dating to a 2007 gambling excursion.
In November, Francis filed suit in federal court in Los Angeles against Wynn Las Vegas charging that a related criminal prosecution against him over the unpaid debt involved malicious prosecution, conspiracy, abuse of process and defamation.
That suit is still active and there’s no telling when or how it will be resolved.
Then, in February, a Las Vegas judge ordered Francis to pay Wynn Las Vegas and Steve Wynn $7.5 million in a Wynn defamation suit. That case involved claims by Francis that Wynn had deceived his high-end customers.
Houston has vowed to appeal the $7.5 million verdict, though apparently that appeal hasn’t yet been filed to the Nevada Supreme Court.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday by attorneys for Wynn included an application for a ''writ of attachment and writ of garnishment'' without notice to Francis and a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.
Such requests are typically filed by creditors in hopes of gaining court orders preventing debtors from selling, moving or transferring assets.
In an order signed Wednesday, Clark County District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez granted in part the request for a temporary restraining order, but it’s unclear exactly what she granted.
She denied Wynn’s request for a ''prejudgment writ of attachment,'' but again it wasn’t clear on what exactly Wynn wanted attached.
Gonzalez set a hearing for next week on Wynn’s motion for a preliminary injunction against Francis.
A request for comment was placed with Houston, who hasn’t yet responded to the suit on behalf of himself or Francis.
Court records show that besides suing Francis and Houston, the defendants in the suit are GGW Direct LLC, GGW Brands LLC, GGW Events LLC, Mantra Films Inc., Blue Horse Trading LLC, Pepe Bus LLC and Sands Media Inc.
Wynn Las Vegas is represented in the suit by attorneys at the Las Vegas office of the law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP.