Nevada court upholds $7.5 million award to Steve Wynn against ‘Girls Gone Wild’ founder

CARSON CITY, Nev. – The Nevada Supreme Court has upheld Steve Wynn’s $7.5 million judgment in a civil defamation case against “Girls Gone Wild” founder Joe Francis.

A three-justice panel in an order dated Thursday rejected arguments by Francis that a default judgment granted by a Clark County judge in 2012 should be set aside because his attorneys had withdrawn and he was unable to defend himself.

Justices said the soft-porn video empire founder’s last-minute attempts to challenge the default were an attempt to stall proceedings.

Wynn sued Francis in 2008 amid a legal tussle over a $2 million gambling debt Francis incurred the year before at the Wynn Las Vegas resort.

In 2012, Wynn was awarded $21 million against Francis after a separate slander trial in Los Angeles.

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