Steve Wynn just lost his slander appeal against Jim Chanos
Wynn appealed a 2015 district court decision to throw out a lawsuit against Chanos accusing the short seller of slander after remarks made in a closed talk.
In a three page decision upholding the dismissal viewed by Business Insider, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals maintained that Wynn had failed to make a "plausible" claim of liability on Chanos' part as Chanos was not stating fact, but asserting his opinion.
"Wynn asserts the district court erred when it determined Wynn had not spelled out the case for slander. We disagree," the Court wrote.
The decision also maintained Wynn's liability for Chanos' legal fees.
In case you missed the first go-round, back in 2014 Wynn sued Chanos for slander based on comments Chanos made during a closed talk about the casino industry in Macau.
You can see video of the event here. Chanos starts speaking around 4:00 and again around 36:00.
Chanos has been publicly short the casino industry in the past, and during his 2014 talk he expressed concern about potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Wynn was livid and filed suit against Chanos in September 2014. The matter was dismissed in March 2015.
"I need look no further than the transcript and video of the symposium to conclude that Chanos's words do not amount to a statement of fact, but rather an opinion that is not actionable. For these reasons, and because I grant Chanos's motion to dismiss," California District Judge William Orrick wrote in his 2015 decision.
Undaunted, Wynn appealed, but he lost. And here we are. Jim Chanos declined to comment for this story.
Billionaires, man. They have problems just like us.
Read the full decision, embedded below:
Ninth Circuit OpinionWynnvsChanos by Linette Lopez on Scribd