The second round of litigation between Las Vegas Sands Corp. and a Hong Kong businessman who says he was not paid for his help in establishing a casino in Macau has gone to the jury. Attorneys for both sides delivered their closing arguments on May 9, each side summing up their version of events.
As we have mentioned before in this Nevada business disputes blog, the plaintiff says that Sands reached an agreement with him to have him get Sands a casino license in Macau, the Chinese gambling mecca. The plaintiff says he did his job but that Sands failed to give him his fee plus two percent of the Macau casino’s profits, a share he estimates at $328 million.
In response, Sands has denied that its CEO Sheldon Adelson approved that employment contract. The company also says that the plaintiff did not do what he had promised to do and that Sands got the license through a competitive process. But during his closing argument, the plaintiff’s attorney said the Sands’ distinction is meaningless. He told the jury that the plaintiff “alerted Mr. Adelson to the opportunity” and the fact that Sands might have found out about it on its own does not change that fact.
This is the second time this dispute has gone to trial. The plaintiff was victorious in 2008, but the Nevada Supreme Court overturned the verdict over some hearsay evidence the trial judge admitted.
We will share the verdict in this case with our readers when it is announced.
Source: The Boston Globe, “Las Vegas Sands case nears end after 9 nears,” Hannah Dreier, May 9, 2013
