An appellate court unanimously denied Girls Gone Wild mogul Joe Francis’ appeal of a $19 million defamation judgment obtained against him by casino owner Steve Wynn, it was announced June 23.
Justice Norman Epstein of the 2nd District Court of Appeal wrote the 18-page opinion upholding earlier rulings by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joanne O’Donnell.
The appeal stemmed from a 2010 lawsuit Wynn filed against Francis regarding comments he made to a celebrity gossip website about the Las Vegas hotel owner.
In September 2012, jurors found that Francis slandered Wynn by claiming that the casino boss threatened to kill Francis and bury him in the desert over a gambling debt.
Quincy Jones, a Grammy Award-winning producer who lives near Francis, refuted Francis’ claims that he had relayed the threats Wynn allegedly made.
Francis was originally ordered to pay Wynn $20 million, plus another $20 million in punitive damages. However, O’Donnell cut the award down to $19 million, deducting the punitive damages award plus $1 million that was awarded based on comments Francis made to Good Morning America about Wynn.
Wynn, a billionaire, said previously that he intended to donate the money to charity.
