Falcon Physician Reviews Inc. of Dallas alleged its students' credit cards were fraudulently used while they were staying at the 378-room Holiday Inn Select at 2645 LBJ Freeway, which Younan had under contract to sell when the July 19, 2006 lawsuit was filed. The hotel did sell in late September 2006, with Younan continuing to wage a battle over his first lawsuit by counter-suing one month after the group broke a one-year contract to house students at the North Dallas hotel while they took USMLE prep courses.

"This wasn't about money. This was about our honor, our name and our reputation," Zaya Younan, chairman and CEO of Los Angeles-based Younan Properties Inc., tells GlobeSt.com. "This was our first lawsuit ever. We want to let the market know we are very serious in defending our name and will continue to do so."

Falcon Physician Reviews' attorney David Curtis, partner in Shackelford, Melton & McKinley of Dallas, declined to comment on the decision. He also had no comment as to whether an appeal would be filed.