Dismissal of lawsuit against Wynn upheld

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed against Wynn Resorts’ board members, submitted by a shareholder over concerns about the management of the company’s Macau operations, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The lawsuit, which alleges that the company’s board breached its fiduciary duties, was filed in the Las Vegas District Court in 2012 by the Louisiana Municipal Police Employees’ Retirement System, a shareholder of Wynn Resorts.
The move was prompted by the news in 2011 that Wynn Resorts had decided to donate USD135 million to the University of Macau (UM) Development Foundation. The shareholder considers the donation not to be in the best interests of investors, and asked for a halt to any further donations to the university.
The lawsuit alleged that Wynn Macau’s pledge to donate the money to UM was unprecedented.
However, Wynn Resorts have denied all allegations of impropriety, maintaining that the donation was reviewed by lawyers to ensure that it complied with anti-bribery laws in the U.S.
The case was dismissed originally by U.S. District Judge James Mahan, and later upheld by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which found that there was a lack of evidence to show that the board members’ independence had been compromised.