NEW YORK -- Starwood Hotels was slapped with a class-action lawsuit
alleging that the company defrauded guests by misrepresented a
"resort fee" as a legitimate tax.
Bragar Wexler Eagel & Morgenstern in New York filed the
lawsuit on Feb. 28 in New York State Supreme Court in Westchester
County.
It alleges that Starwood fraudulently charges guests an
undisclosed "resort fee" or similar fee, although the charge was
"really not a tax remitted by Starwood to any governmental
authority at all, but rather an additional charge that was
improperly retained by Starwood."
The lawsuit names one plaintiff, but was filed as a class action
on behalf of any guests who stayed at a Starwood hotel from March
1, 1999 through Feb. 28, 2002.
It seeks to recover damages, including punitive damages, of at
least $100 million.
Peter D. Morgenstern, one of the firm's partners, said Starwood
misrepresented the tax on its Web site and over its telephone
reservation system.
A Starwood spokeswoman said the company "cannot comment on
matters of pending litigation."