The lawsuit and countersuit have been filed in the past two weeks in the Texas District Court in Dallas. William A. Brewer III of Dallas-based Bickel & Brewer represents Park Cities Hotel LP, led by prominent local businessman, R. Maurice Crowe. Brewer tells GlobeSt.com that he expects it will be a year before the case comes to trial. But, it will come to trial, he says, dismissing the possibility for an out-of-court settlement at this stage between the hotel owners and their former management company and investment partner in the venture. MeriStar held a 15-year management contract for the 220-room Park Cities Hilton and loaned $500,000 at 12.5% interest to the group.

MeriStar has hired the Dallas firm of Strasburger & Price LLP. MeriStar is withholding comments about the litigation, but did provide a copy of its counterclaim.

The hotel limited partnership is seeking upward of $10 million in compensatory damages and three times the amount of actual damages in punitive payment. The lawsuit accuses MeriStar of diverting large bookings to other Dallas-area managed or owned properties in the MeriStar portfolio. "But more important," Brewer says, "is what it does to the economic business of the firm." He says much of the information in the lawsuit is based on information from at least a half dozen MeriStar whistleblowers, now working for the hotel owners who are in the midst of negotiations with a new management operator.