Happy New Year! Tobey Maguire Wanted in Court in 2012

Court date set in lawsuit filed by investors who say actor won their money playing in illegal poker games

By Natalie Finn Jul 26, 2011 9:00 PMTags
Tobey MaguireSoul Brother/FilmMagic

Tobey Maguire is fighting it, but for now he has to abide by courthouse rules.

A trial has been set for the week of Jan. 30, 2012, in a lawsuit filed against the actor by a trustee for investors seeking the return of more than $300,000 that Maguire won playing poker with a Beverly Hills hedge fund manager who was betting with clients' money.

In his response, Maguire—who denies knowingly playing in illegal games set up by convicted Ponzi schemer Brad Ruderman—insisted that his winnings only amounted to around $187,000 and that he lost nearly as much as he won.

Maguire's attorney argued in documents filed last month that the $168,500 he lost to Ruderman should offset any sum the investors think they're owed from the former Spider-Man star.

Per documents filed yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles and obtained by E! News, both parties have until Nov. 30 to depose all possible witnesses and disclose the evidence they're planning to bring up at trial.

Fellow A-listers who played in Ruderman's high-stakes games, such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, have not been targets of any related litigation to date.

Ruderman was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison last year after losing more than $25 million of his client's money and pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud and two counts of investment adviser fraud.