A mud-slinging dispute between competitors in the gaming industry is testing the outer limits of New Jersey's anti-SLAPP law. A judge is set to consider whether the state's Uniform Public Expression Act provides a defense to parties that spread unflattering views against Swedish gaming technology maker Evolution AB. A British company called Black Cube and its New Jersey lawyers at Calcagni & Kanefsky of Newark are facing a suit for $14 billion in damages over a report they allegedly disseminated to gaming regulators and the media. Evolution sued Calcagni & Kanefsky and attorney Ralph Marra Jr. in 2021 in Atlantic County Superior Court, claiming its market capitalization dropped by $14 billion when the report hit the media. The report said Evolution does business in Iran, Sudan and Syria, which are state sponsors of terrorism, and that the company allows large-scale cash wagers in contravention of its own money-laundering policy and related laws. But New Jersey gaming regulators said the claims could not be substantiated. Black Cube was added as a defendant in June after Evolution fought a lengthy battle to learn the identity of Calcagni & Kanefsky's client. That addition set up a battle between Williams & Connolly, representing Black Cube, and Kirkland & Ellis, counsel for Evolution. Local counsel is Brown & Connery for Black Cube, while Cooper Levenson represents Evolution. Playtech allegedly hired Black Cube to generate a damaging report about Evolution and to get it published in the media, and Black Cube was paid around $888,000 after Bloomberg ran a piece repeating the allegations, Evolution claimed in a court filing. Black Cube, in turn, allegedly hired Calcagni & Kanefsky to "launder" its report, Evolution alleged in a court filing. The law firm also allegedly sent its report to New Jersey's Division of Gaming Enforcement, stating that Evolution should not be allowed to conduct business in the state. The Division of Gaming Enforcement investigated the allegations concerning Evolution, but concluded in a Feb. 15, 2024, letter to Evolution's local counsel that it was "unable to confirm" that Evolution did business in prohibited jurisdictions. The division also said it found no evidence of the money laundering allegations, according to a letter signed by Deputy Attorney General Michael Golub. On Aug. 11, Black Cube asked the court to dismiss the complaint on the basis that its actions were protected by the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act. That measure was enacted in 2023 to protect the public from strategic lawsuits against public participation. It allows individuals and entities to file an early motion to have meritless lawsuits designed to silence their speech dismissed quickly. The act also can award attorney fees and costs. Black Cube alleged in its bid to invoke UPEPA, "Evolution's invalid claims against Black Cube aim not to vindicate Evolution's rights, but to chill Black Cube's protected speech and stifle public expression. They are exactly the type of claims that UPEPA guards against." Evolution, for its part, alleged in a filing that, "For years, Black Cube has evaded accountability, hiding behind anonymity and procedural maneuvering to cover up defendants' lies. Black Cube's latest gambit, an irresponsible and frivolous UPEPA motion, only compounds the harm and delay defendants have inflicted." On Sep. 9, Judge John Porto ordered Black Cube to identify its client, after which it identified Playtech. Evolution said it intends to file an amended complaint adding Playtech as a defendant. Playtech, headquartered in London, could not be reached for comment about the case. Williams & Connolly's John Villa, representing Black Cube, declined to comment. Michael Williams of Kirkland & Ellis, representing Evolution, claimed in a statement, “In the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Black Cube prepared, and submitted to regulators, a knowingly false and defamatory report about Evolution’s business that was designed to cause existential harm to the company. They then arranged for the false report to be published by a major news outlet and others, further exacerbating that harm. As we now know, they were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in success fees by Playtech, a direct competitor of Evolution, that wanted to thwart its ability to operate, to reach and then disseminate a foreordained conclusion. Black Cube’s actions were motivated not by public concern as they disingenuously assert, but by money. Neither Playtech nor its proxy, Black Cube, can hide behind this baseless and frivolous motion and we look forward to holding them to account for the damage they have caused.” Kevin Marino of Marino, Tortorella & Boyle, representing Calcagni & Kanefsky, claimed in a statement about the case, "It is unthinkable that a law firm could be held liable for reporting allegations of misconduct to a law enforcement agency, but that dangerous outcome is precisely what is being sought in this case. Calcagni & Kanefsky has been sued in a defamation action for providing legal services that are not only routine but are expressly protected by the federal and state constitutions, the recently enacted Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, and long-standing controlling precedent. Lawsuits of this type will have a significant chilling effect upon lawyers and should be rejected out of hand."