Timeshare pioneer Hillel A. Meyers of Miami, investor Donald G. Saunders of Las Vegas and attorney Thomas K. Russell of California are suing a pair of high-powered Dallas businessmen, Gary and Michael Kornman, and Howard Jenkins, chairman of Florida-based Publix Supermarkets Inc., for allegedly undermining the hotel plan in 1998. Also under fire is a host of businesses, including Premier Interval Resorts Inc. in Dallas and Houston-based Meralex LP and Revanche LLC. The case was filed in the 19th Judicial District Court of Dallas; the trial date is Oct. 18.

The six businessmen have been embroiled in legal battles since 1999 when Maxim's prior owner, Premier Interval Resorts, filed Chapter 11 in a finger-pointing bankruptcy. Five years into the battle, Meyers, Saunders and Russell said they learned during depositions a year ago that now-established facts differed widely from what they were told in the past, William A. Brewer III, partner in Dallas-based Bickel & Brewer, tells GlobeSt.com. "It was pure happenstance that my guys found this out," he says.

Brewer is seeking to reclaim business losses even though the Maxim has traded twice, the most recent sale in 2002 for $38 million to Cincinnati-based Columbia Sussex Corp., which has since completed a hefty renovation and opened doors as a franchised Westin at 160 E. Flamingo Road. Before the redevelopment, the twin-tower hotel held 795 rooms and a 40,000-sf casino.