ClubsNSW and Troy Stolz settle legal dispute

ClubsNSW will withdraw all legal action against its terminally ill former employee Troy Stolz,in a signal the lobby group is taking a fresh approach after the sacking of its chief executive Josh Landis last week.

Stolz and ClubsNSW signed a confidential settlement on Tuesday morning following extensive negotiations,with both parties agreeing to drop their legal claims against one another.

Troy Stolz and ClubsNSW were involved in three separate litigation matters in the Federal Court.

Troy Stolz and ClubsNSW were involved in three separate litigation matters in the Federal Court.Nick Moir

Stolz,who has oesophagus and bone cancer,said the agreement came as a relief. He spent five days under cross-examination in the Federal Court in December and the case was due to return to court in February.

“It’s taken a massive toll on my health,” he said. “I’m glad it’s over and I’m still keen to move forward and advocate for gambling reform. I can’t keep fighting in court,spending money I don’t have and leaving[wife] Dianne and the kids with nothing.”

Stolz was suing his former employer for defamation and alleged breaches of the Fair Work Act,while ClubsNSW was suing him for breaching the confidentiality clause of his employment contract and criminal contempt.

The parties began negotiating a settlement last week after Landis was sacked from ClubsNSW for saying that Premier Dominic Perrottet’s gambling reforms were motivated by his “conservative Catholic gut”.

ClubsNSW has also agreed to drop its action against Stolz’s wife,who was claimed to be in receipt of confidential information allegedly obtained by Stolz.

The criminal action,which was brought privately by ClubsNSW without the involvement of the Director of Public Prosecutions,was widely condemned,with former casino mogul James Packer describing it as “ruthless unethical behaviour”.

“Who on earth sues a dying man?” Packer asked.

Stolz is running for NSW parliament as an independent candidate against opposition leader Chris Minns in the seat of Kogarah on a gambling reform platform.

He said there was no gag order in the settlement that would prevent him from speaking about gambling reform or cashless gaming and he would continue to campaign on harm minimisation.

“When I started[litigation] three years ago,it was very much under the radar and now it’s not only been brought to the public’s attention,but it’s become an election issue,so I think I’ve done all I can really do. It’s now up to the public and politicians to fix it.”

He said he would withdraw his candidacy for Kogarah if Minns supported cashless gaming or offered bipartisan support to Perrottet’s reforms.

ClubsNSW said it was “pleased that a mutually agreeable settlement has been reached in the matters with Troy Stolz. Due to the confidential nature of the settlement,no further details will be provided.”

Stolz worked as a compliance manager for ClubsNSW until 2019,when he quit to work for anti-money laundering firm Initialism. He claimed in his action against ClubsNSW that the organisation then commenced a defamatory campaign against him,and failed to pay him his entitlements by claiming he was an independent contractor.

After he was sacked by his new boss,he leaked a document to federal independent MP Andrew Wilkie that indicated widespread industry non-compliance with anti-money laundering laws. ClubsNSW claimed in its action against him that he had breached confidentiality.

Stolz told theHerald last year that after he was diagnosed with stage four cancer,his former employer appeared to be attempting to wear him down with litigation,including by launching a fresh prosecution against him for criminal contempt – a claim that ClubsNSW dismissed as “blatant self-interest and lies”.

It said in a statement:“Mr Stolz seeks to portray himself as a saint. The truth is,he initiated baseless legal actions against ClubsNSW,then used every opportunity which gullible media would provide in order to seek millions of dollars in ‘go away’ money from ClubsNSW.”

Federal Court records show Stolz filed his notice of discontinuance on Tuesday.

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Harriet Alexander is a reporter for the Herald.

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