January 1, 2008 – American Lawyer Media profiled firm Partner William A. Brewer III and the firm’s successful defense of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. against claims relating to its ownership and management of two Westin hotels, one in Chicago and the other in San Franscisco.
As explained in the article, “Victory for Starwood Hotels & Resorts in Multi-Million Dollar Dispute,” $200 million was at stake but also something even bigger – failure could result in “scores of other hotel owners who might join together to file a class action on a similar claim…”
According to the article, “After a 17-month arbitration process and a two-week trial, Starwood in 2006 soundly defeated its opponent on every claim. The victory reaffirmed [the firms’] position as one of the leading hospitality litigation firms in the world. Because of the potential for other lawsuits should the company settle or lose, the case was a quintessential ‘bet-the-company’ lawsuit,” Brewer said.