Reuters: Marriott, Schrager Sued by Hawaii Hotel Owner
May 30, 2011 — Reuters reports that owners of the Waikiki Edition have filed suit against Marriott International Inc. and hotelier Ian Schrager, Marriott's partner in creating the Edition brand. The lawsuit, filed by Bickel & Brewer on behalf of M Waikiki LLC, "seeks to end a 30-year management agreement and recover losses and overruns tied to the 353-room beachside hotel."
"We believe empty promises were made in connection with the launch of Edition — and the damage done to our clients has been further compounded by Marriott's inability to effectively manage this property," said William A. Brewer III, partner at Bickel & Brewer and lead counsel for M. Waikiki LLC. "Based on the breaches of its contractual obligations to our client, we are seeking to remove Marriott from the management of the Hotel."
To read the full report, click here.
The Wall Street Journal: Hawaii Hotel Sues Marriott
May 26, 2011 — The Wall Street Journal reports that the owners of the "stylish but unsuccessful" Waikiki Edition in Honolulu have filed a lawsuit seeking to end their management agreement with Marriott International Inc. In the lawsuit, filed by Bickel & Brewer on behalf of client M Waikiki LLC, the owners claim Marriott has "failed to make a flashy new hotel brand a success."
The lawsuit also named Ian Schrager, Marriott's partner on the Edition brand, as a defendant in the suit, "alleging that the famed hotelier has been uninvolved in the project."
The report states, "The owners now allege Marriott was responsible for construction overruns, as well as cost overruns after the hotel began operating. The owners say the hotel has lost $6 million since it opened in October 2010, with occupancy just around 30% in the fourth quarter of 2010, far below the 62% occupancy Marriott predicted in August 2009."
To read the full report, click here.
Dallas Business Journal: Wylys Did No Wrong, Lawyer Says
November 12, 2010 – The Dallas Business Journal reports today that “Sam and Charles Wyly should not be held liable for insider trading or other misdeeds the Securities and Exchange Commission has alleged they’ve committed because they’ve done nothing wrong. At least that’s the message the Bill Brewer…wants to convey about his Dallas billionaire clients.”
“The SEC case lacks merit,” Brewer told the DBJ. “The (Wylys) that the community has known for the last 40 years are good, honorable and law-abiding folks…about whom the SEC has told a tall tale. It’s a tall tale that’s inconsistent with the people we’ve known for all these decades,” Brewer said.
Read the full report here.
WSJ Reports on Wyly Brothers, Fraud Case
July 30, 2010 – The Wall Street Journal reports today on firm clients and billionaire brothers Sam and Charles Wyly, who allegedly hid trading profits through an “elaborate sham system” of offshore entities.
The Wylys’ lawyer, William A. Brewer III, said the brothers plan a vigorous defense and expect to be vindicated. “After six years of investigations, the SEC has chosen to make claims against the Wyly brothers – claims that, in our view, are without merit. Brewer added that the brothers relied upon the advice of accountants and lawyers, as reported by the WSJ.
Read the full report here.
Kansas City Jury Awards Firm Client $15M
May 26, 2009 — The Kansas City Business Journal reports that a federal jury has awarded firm client Dovetail Builders 2 LLC "nearly $15 million for a breach of contract claim involving a Junction City apartment development."
According to the report, the real estate dispute involved a joint agreement that Dovetail entered into with David Christie of D.J. Christie Inc. and former associate Alexander Glenn. Dovetail's lawsuit claimed that Christie "abandoned the joint venture after the Junction City Commission indicated it would offer incentives for the project. Christie completed the project without Dovetail Builders."
“We applaud the jury’s decision and finding that our clients were unjustly removed from this real estate development deal,” said William Brewer, an attorney with Dallas-based Bickel & Brewer.
To read the full article, click here.
Austin American-Statesman Reports on Settlement in Hydro-Quebec Battery Dispute
October 11, 2008 — In an article titled “Battery Deal Gives UT Royalty Payments,” The Austin American-Statesman reports that The University of Texas and Bickel & Brewer client Hydro-Quebec have "settled a 7-year-old lawsuit that clears the way for the development and sale of battery-powered products that would use technology created at the Austin campus."
The report states that, according to the terms of the settlement, the UT System and Hydro-Quebec will be paid $30 million by Japanese communications giant NTT Corp.
The report states that "NTT Corp. will license the battery technology patents to Hydro-Quebec and the university system, giving H-Q free rein to try to sell the technology in a range of electronic devices. The settlement also allows the utility to sublicense the technology to other companies."
Vanity Fair: Oil in the Family
June 2008 – A profile story in Vanity Fair, “Oil in the Family,” profiles the story of the Hunt dynasty and legal actions dividing the family. The publication writes, “In 1935 oil tycoon H.L. Hunt, known as the richest man in America, created what would become a multi-billion-dollar trust for his descendants. Three generations later, a lawsuit by his free-spending grandson is shaking the foundations of that mighty family fortune.”
“At stake, according to family documents, is an oil-and-gas fortune worth between $2.5 and $4 billion,” according to the article.”
Bill Brewer, who represents Al Hill III, and his client “both maintain that the exchange of charges and countercharges between the warring camps has obscured the core issue: the family’s plan to sell Hunt Petroleum and to break no just one but two trusts that own the company, and then to seize the proceeds, much sooner than the family ever would have been able to had the trusts remained intact,” writes author Alan Peppard.
Read the article here (subscription required).
Hospitality Law Reports on Firm Client's $10.3M Trial Award
April 2008 — Hospitality Law reports that the "Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. was slapped with a $10 million verdict after a District Court jury found the hotel violated its fiduciary duties to an Indonesian property owner" — firm client Karang Mas Sejahtera (KMS).
The article, "Jury Awards Bali Hotel Operator $10.3 Million Verdict," states that the jury in the Greenbelt, Maryland, case found that the Ritz violated its operating agreement with KMS by opening a competing luxury property within three miles of KMS's property, the Ritz-Carlton Bali Resort & Spa.
According to the report, Bill Brewer, counsel to KMS and a partner at Bickel & Brewer, told Hospitality Law that the case "clarifies the rights, responsibilities and obligations of all parties involved in a hotel management agreement and affirmed that his client's position that the Ritz-Carlton breached its fiduciary duty from a financial, operational and competitive point of view."
"It doesn't matter what you call a relationship — if someone is managing your business, your assets, for your benefit and being paid handsomely to do that, they owe you a fiduciary duty," Brewer said. "The Ritz-Carlton attempted to claim that they and their subsidiary didn't have a fiduciary responsibility to the owner [of the Bali property], and the jury absolutely decided otherwise. I think it reminded everybody that between a principal and an agent, honesty and fact are the touchstone of the relationship."