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Hotel Lawyer on the Fiduciary, Contractual and Agency Duties of Hotel Brokers
By
Jim
Butler
and the Global Hospitality Group®,
Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com August 16, 2011 Hotel
Lawyer on brokers, agents fiduciary duty and charges of trust betrayed as laid out in the high-profile
lawsuit of Host Hotels
& Resorts against Robert T. Koger (personally) and his brokerage
firm
Molinaro Koger, Inc. I was
recently interviewed by Jason Freed of HotelNewsNow (a division of
Smith Travel
Research) about three high profile lawsuits in the hospitality
industry. One of
these cases was Host Hotels & Resorts v. Robert T. Koger.
In this
litigation, Host Hotels & Resorts sued a number of defendants,
including
Rob Koger and his firm, Molinaro Koger, for breach of fiduciary duties,
breach
of contract, fraud and other serious claims. Lawsuits
between sellers and brokers are not particularly common in the
hospitality
industry. And lawsuits alleging fraud are even less common. One of
the reasons I enjoy working in the hospitality industry is the
optimism,
openness and collegiality that exists throughout the hospitality
community.
Developers, owners, operators, lenders, brokers, lawyers, consultants,
advisors, trade media -- we all depend upon each other. Although I am a
rigorous advocate for my client's position in negotiations, there is an
understanding, including with those on the "other side", that we are
working together for the success of making the deal or completing the
project. Anyone
in this industry will tell you that a serious charge of violating the
fiduciary
duties a professional owes to his client is troubling. But a claim of
fraud
goes a step further. And personally naming a high-profile industry
leader is
really an attention-getter, particularly by an institutional player
like Host
Hotels. As I
told Jason in the interview about this lawsuit: "These are serious
allegations. A lot of facts were put into the complaint, such as who
called who
and who did what. You have very specific, detailed, factual
allegations."
This lawsuit does not look like it was filed to get discovery and run a
fishing
expedition. It looks like someone already has the goods. Still,
at this time, they remain allegations in a complaint. How this lawsuit
will
play out is anyone's guess, but many will be watching. If you would
like a copy
of the complaint, let me know and I will email it to you. Click
here to read Jason Freed's article Checking
in on high profile lawsuits on HotelNewsNow. Click
here to read my commentary on M
Waikiki's Edition litigation against Marriott and Ian Schrager. Click
here to read my commentary on Hotel
Lawyer on
the importance of brands -- intellectual property rights and what they
mean. ________________________ ________________________ Jim Butler is a founding partner of JMBM, and Chairman of its Global Hospitality Group® and Chinese Investment Group™. Jim is one of the top hospitality attorneys in the world. GOOGLE "hotel lawyer" and you will see why. Jim and his team are more than "just" great hotel lawyers. They are also hospitality consultants and business advisors. They are deal makers. They can help find the right operator or capital provider. They know who to call and how to reach them. JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® The hotel lawyers in the Global Hospitality Group® of Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell (JMBM) comprise the premier hospitality practice in a full-service law firm and are the authors of the Hotel Law Blog. We represent hotel owners, developers, investors and lenders and have helped our clients find business and legal solutions for more than $60 billion of hotel transactions, involving more than 1,000 properties worldwide. For more information about the Global Hospitality Group®, go to www.HotelLawBlog.com. For more information about full range of legal services provided by JMBM, go to www.JMBM.com. |
Contact:
Jim Butler
|