Hilton sues LV timeshare contractor

Hilton Grand Vacation Development Co. is seeking an order to force its Las Vegas general contractor to retract alleged defamatory statements that Hilton says disrupted timeshare sales and hurt its reputation.

In a Clark County District Court lawsuit, Hilton Grand alleged Grove Inc. -- which was contracted on July 15, 1998, to build its timeshare vacation property adjacent to the Las Vegas Hilton hotel-casino -- filed a mechanic's lien against Hilton Grand on March 2 to recover about $9 million in allegedly unpaid construction fees and change orders.

The development, located between Paradise Road and Joe W. Brown Drive, includes a 16-story timeshare building, swimming pool and sun deck area and an expansion of the existing parking structure.

Hilton Grand, which described the lien as "frivolous, made without reasonable cause and excessive," said Grove then sent a letter on March 6 to the Nevada Department of Business and Industry's Real Estate Division that allegedly said Hilton Grand has to notify its timeshare buyers that the lien existed.

Hilton Grand said it lost timeshare revenues because Nevada's Real Estate Division, after receiving the letter, told the company to stop selling timeshare vacations for a period of time. It's seeking damages of more than $2.9 million.

John Peter Lee, Grove's attorney, said his client was surprised by Hilton Grand's lawsuit because both parties were currently in "active settlement negotiations."

"We'd met only (Tuesday) with the understanding that the matter will be resolved," Lee said, "This is a legitimate lien, even though Hilton claims it is false and defamatory. There are a host of subcontractors who are owed over $9 million and they have also filed liens, claiming unpaid fees and project delays caused by the owners."

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