Las Vegas Sands Loses Bid to Toss $101.6 Million Verdict
By Valerie Miller & Edvard Pettersson - Jul 31, 2013 12:01 AM ET
Las Vegas Sands Corp. lost a bid to set aside a $101.6 million jury award to Richard Suen, a Hong Kong businessman who claimed he helped the casino operator obtain a gaming license in Macau.
Clark County District Judge Rob Bare at a hearing yesterday in Las Vegas denied the request by Sands to enter judgment in its favor. The judge also rejected the alternative of ordering a new trial or cutting the jury award.
“What he said was, ‘Hey, if you get me the license, it is worth it,’” the judge said, referring to testimony by Sands Chairman and majority owner Sheldon Adelson during the trial, as he denied the casino operator’s request to lower the award.
Adelson, 79, testified that Suen, a friend of his younger brother Lenny Adelson, had contributed nothing to helping Sands get a concession in Macau in 2002. The Nevada jury in May awarded Suen $70 million in damages, to which Bare added $31.6 million in pre-judgment interest.
“Nothing has changed,” Ron Reese, a spokesman for Sands, said yesterday in an e-mail. “We will absolutely appeal.”
“We are very pleased that Judge Bare denied all the motions made by the Sands,” John O’Malley, a lawyer for Suen, said after the hearing. “We expect Las Vegas Sands to appeal and we will defend the verdict.”
The case is Suen v. Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS), 04A493744, Nevada District Court, Clark County (Las Vegas).
To contact the reporter on this story: Edvard Pettersson in Los Angeles at epettersson@bloomberg.net
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