Black Cube has been ordered within seven days to respond to a New Jersey court order to reveal the secret client behind a 2021 attempted Evolution takedown.
Black Cube has been ordered to respond to a New Jersey court order within seven days to reveal the secret client behind a 2021 attempted Evolution takedown.
However, Black Cube have successfully petitioned the court to stay the discovery pending a separate Order to Show Cause hearing on 31 October, where it will try and get the whole case dismissed under New Jersey’s anti-SLAPP laws.
The order marks the latest twist in Evolution’s nearly five-year legal battle to unmask the secret client behind the 2021 prohibited markets report, which resulted in billions of value being wiped from its share price.
It follows NEXT.io breaking the news earlier this year that private intelligence agency Black Cube was the investigative group which compiled the report, revealed after the court ordered the law firm which had acted as the document’s public face, Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP, to provide the information.
Evolution itself suspects the group responsible is a business competitor, corroborated by a NEXT.io source privy to an internal investor meeting who said it was a major iGaming supplier.
This came after the two state gaming regulators provided with a copy of the report, New Jersey’s DGE and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, both closed their probes into Evolution without action.
More recently, Black Cube submitted a 118-page affidavit containing extensively documented new evidence claiming to show Evolution’s wrongdoing, with the live dealer supplier telling NEXT.io the document was an attempt to distract from the issue of its anonymous client’s identity.
NJ court says Evolution discovery should go ahead
However, in its latest order the court has sided with Evolution, arguing the issue of the truthfulness of the report was largely settled with the closing of the state regulators’ investigations.
Judge John C. Porto said: “Accordingly, at this time, and viewed through the lens of the DGE’’s independent investigation and findings, the Black Cube Report, is viewed as objectively baseless and no reasonable litigant could expect success on the merits.
“Since this court makes that determination, this court finds Black Cube’s subjective motivation to determine whether their Report and Black Cube’s actions conceal an attempt to interfere with Evolution’s business by a competitor may be examined. For that reason, the two co-defendants’ opposition to Evolution’s discovery requests is denied.”
As such, the court ordered Black Cube to reveal the identity of all individuals and businesses behind the report, all payments and invoices connected with it, the names of anyone provided with a copy and the deposition of the agency’s sole director.
If the court blocks Black Cube’s attempt to get the case chucked on 31 October, the intelligence business will once again be faced with revealing who hired it to takedown Evolution.
NEXT.io has reached out to Black Cube for comment.