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WASHINGTON (JTA) — A group that once was the umbrella for Jewish Democrats says it was brought down by a libel lawsuit filed against it by Sheldon Adelson and is countersuing now that Adelson has lost.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday in a federal court in New York by the National Jewish Democratic Council and its former chairman, Marc Stanley, charges the casino magnate with “legal sadism” for pursuing his lawsuit first launched in 2012, despite multiple losses in lower courts, until a federal appeals court threw it out last November.

“It is now beyond cavil that Sheldon Adelson deliberately abused the courts to try — in his words — to bankrupt the National Jewish Democratic Council for having the temerity to criticize him,” the lawsuit said.

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Adelson has already paid legal costs to the defendants after losing his lawsuit. This suit seeks damages under a statute in Nevada — where Adelson originally filed his lawsuit — that penalize frivolous lawsuits. The filing does not name an amount but seeks damages to be determined at trial and punitive damages.

The lawsuit says that Adelson essentially ruined NJDC, driving away donors who were wary about being named in a lawsuit. Its then-director, David Harris, left the organization and politics because of the action. “Today, the NJDC exists only to recover its debt from litigation and pay its bills,” it says.

A new group, the Jewish Democratic Council of America, was established last year in its stead.

Adelson had sued the National Jewish Democratic Council in 2012 over an online petition alleging the major Republican donor allowed prostitution at his casino in Macau.

Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

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