Jury Goes Wild, Costs Girls Gone Wild Founder $40 Million

“Girls Gone Wild” founder Joe Francis (Photo by Arnold Turner/Invision/AP, File)

A jury ordered “Girls Gone Wild” founder to pay a casino mogul a total of $40 million for slandering him.

The dispute began when Joe Francis, purveyor of the porn videos “Girls Gone Wild,” told people that casino owner Steve Wynn threatened in an email to kill him.

According to Francis, Wynn said in an email, “‘I’m going to hit to him in the back of the head with a shovel and have him buried in the middle of the desert.’ I was afraid for my life. He made it very clear that he wanted to kill me.”

Wynn claimed he never made such a threat but that Francis repeated the claim to others and hurt his reputation, as well as possibly triggering an investigation by the Nevada gaming authorities.

Wynn sued Francis for slander, asking for $12 million in damages.

Francis also claimed that music producer Quincy Jones saw the email. However, Jones took the stand during the trial to refute that claim, saying he never saw any email in which Wynn threatened to kill Francis.

After a four-day trial, a Los Angeles jury agreed with Wynn and awarded him $20 million. It also found that Francis acted with malice, allowing Wynn’s attorney Barry Langberg to seek punitive damages.

Langberg told the jury to “send a message” not only to Francis, but to everyone who has insulted someone online.

“It tells the world and Mr. Francis, ‘You can’t do this,’” Langberg said.

Barry Langberg

The jury later agreed, tacking on an additional $20 million in punitive damages, deciding that the millionaire porn peddler had made the false statements with the intention of damaging Wynn’s reputation.

The two men have a history. In 2008, Wynn sued Francis over a $2 million gambling debt he owed to one of Wynn’s casinos. It was during a hearing related to that lawsuit that Francis reportedly blurted out that Wynn had threatened to kill him.

This is also not the first defamation claim that Wynn has won against Francis. Wynn also won a $7.5 million judgment in an earlier suit after Francis claimed Wynn’s casino used deceptive means to keep him gambling.

Aaron Aftergood, an attorney who represents Francis, said he will appeal the verdict by arguing that the jury should not have been allowed to punish his client for going on tv during the trial to talk about the supposed death threat.

Billionaire Wynn, who hardly needs an extra $40 million, said any money he receives from the verdict will go to charities for abused women and wounded vets.

Learn about libel, slander and defamation law, or contact an attorney to answer your legal questions.