An attempt to oust Trump Hotels from management of the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Panama has descended into a bitter legal fight.
In a lawsuit filed in New York, the hybrid condo-hotel’s owners’ association accused Trump Hotels of mismanagement and financial misconduct.
This adds up to ‘gross mismanagement, breaches of contract, conversion and breaches of fiduciary duties.’
Moves began last year to remove Trump Hotels as manager and the suit alleges Trump sought to ‘bully, intimidate and harass’ its way out of a $15 million arbitration claim.
In a letter to unit owners, Orestes Fintiklis, the managing partner of Miami-based Ithaca Capital Partners said ‘the investment has no future so long as the hotel is managed by an incompetent operator whose brand has been tarnished beyond repair.’
Trump Hotels ‘is refusing to maintain its last shreds of dignity and peacefully vacate our property’ he wrote.
Ithaca Capital Group owns more than 200 condo units in the 70-story building.
Trump Hotels itself fired off a letter to the owners association laying all blame with Ithaca Capital.
To complicate things even further, executives from Marriott International were invited to inspect the hotel with a view to potentially managing it in the future but were booted off site by Trump Hotels.
That led to an angry phone call by Trump Hotels CEO Eric Danziger to Marriott counterpart Arne Sorenson.
"We have a great relationship with Marriott. They were appreciative that we let them know that we have a valid contract," Trump International attorney Alan Garten told the AP.
