Failed Game Kickstarter Owes $54K Following First Crowdfunding Lawsuit

Kickstarter and crowdfunding offer a sense of great freedom, but we've all seen crowd-funded campaigns fall short or fail in the past few years. There's been little legal recourse as backers effectively giving money on good will; there is no partial ownership of the product or company.

Altius Entertainment successfully concluded its Kickstarter campaign a full three years ago (4Q12). In the years following, the card game never saw completion and Kickstarter backers were left wondering when their promised, tiered pledges would show up. The Washington Attorney General's office began investigation in 2014.

Bob Ferguson, Washington Attorney General, recently levied a civil fines against Altius Entertainment, would-be makers of Asylum Playing cards. Those fines tally $54,851 and are due, in part, to be returned to backers supporting the project. The fines consist of a $31,000 charge owed to the State for the 31 Washington-based backers ($1000 per backer penalty), a $23,183 legal fee restitution owed, and $668 for the WA-based backers. Note that this case only guarantees restitution for backers physically based in Washington at the time of backing and does not call for refunds to those living out of the state. The precedent is set, though, and it's an important one for consumers.

As far as we're aware – and based on Ferguson's own statements – it would appear that this is the first consumer defense case on-record involving crowd-funding platforms.

Read more in the official press release.

- Steve "Lelldorianx" Burke.