HARRISBURG, PA, Nov. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pace-O-Matic, Inc., the developer of Pennsylvania Skill games, released the following statement concerning a lawsuit filed in Philadelphia related to the 2020 tragic death of convenience store clerk Ashokkumar Patel in Hazelton.
“The death of Ashokkumar Patel is tragic and a terrible loss for his family. We commend the Hazleton Police Department and the Luzerne County District Attorney for apprehending the man who murdered Mr. Patel and making certain he will spend the rest of his life in prison. As for the lawsuit filed by Mr. Patel’s estate, we will continue to maintain that Pace-O-Matic is not connected in any way with the actions involved in the crime. Among the numerous irregularities in this lawsuit was the fact that it was allowed to be brought in Philadelphia, despite the absence of any connection to the horrible murder of Mr. Patel. While most of the claims pursued by the plaintiff’s attorneys were dismissed, the decisions rendered in this case set a dangerous precedent by establishing responsibility and liability for criminal activity with businesses that offer any product, service or software license at a location where a crime has occurred – even when there is little to no connection to the crime. Even though minimal responsibility was ascribed to Pace-O-Matic, it is an unfortunate outcome that we believe is without sufficient legal or factual precedent. We are planning to appeal the decision and anticipate a favorable outcome.”
The facts of the case are undisputed and are as follows. The murderer entered the store, shot the clerk, stole a bag of cash, and left the store. He was in the store for just over 4 seconds before brutally murdering Mr. Patel. The convicted murderer then stole a bag of cash that was used to pay vendors who supplied the convenience store with goods and services. Pace-O-Matic’s Pennsylvania Skill had only a couple of games on location, which were inoperable and unavailable for play. Other games were on location and available for play. Those manufacturers were not held liable for the crime. The verdict in this case means that every company or individual who is even tangentially involved in the creation of a product is liable for any crime committed where that product is offered to customers. Additionally, the responsibility of this murder was solely on the person who pulled the trigger, as determined by the Luzerne County jury who appropriately convicted the murderer to a life sentence. Of the $15 million Philadelphia verdict, Pace-O-Matic and our manufacturing partner, Miele Manufacturing, were assigned three million in damages. We will appeal and win.
Pace-O-Matic’s Chief Public Affairs Officer Michael Barley added, “The casino industry partnered with an ambulance-chasing Philadelphia law firm to create a PR story off the back of this poor store clerk’s family. The reality is that this verdict will be overturned. The casino industry had detailed memos, exposed in other litigation, that clearly show its involvement in this lawsuit. This is sad and exposes the depths they will sink to harm small businesses and fraternal clubs operating legal skill games, all in the name of greed and their false belief that skill games cannibalize their record revenues.”
Jeanette Krebs Krebs Communications 717-418-6106 jk@krebs.solutions
