38 Studios lawsuit begins

The opening round of arguments in the lawsuit of Rhode Island against fourteen 38 Studios Executives began today with a third attempt by the defendants to have the case dismissed.

R.I. filed suit in November, claiming the executives knowingly withheld information about the studio’s financial situation from the state Economic Development Corporation while pursuing $75 million in taxpayer-backed loans that brought the studio from neighbouring Massachusetts.

38 Studios defaulted on the loan, declaring bankruptcy last year and leaving the state as much as $130 million poorer including interest.

According to The Providence Journal, lawyer for the defense William M. Dolan III took a derisive tone.

"Clerks don’t check specious claims at the door," he told the Judge.

The EDC’s lawyer Max Wistow claimed he had an "avalanche" of evidence against the executives.

Studio founder and baseball hero Curt Schilling is among the defendants.

An investigation by federal authorities found the company was not guilty of any wrongdoing.