Advent sued for third time over design of New York-New York

Brian Seals

Thursday, Dec. 3, 1998 | 11:34 a.m.

A Las Vegas architectural firm sued casino designer Mark Advent and Tri-M Holdings in Clark County District Court, alleging Advent pilfered designs that would eventually be used for the New York New York hotel-casino.

Domingo Cambeiro Professional Corp. accuses Advent of breach of a confidentiality agreement and misappropriation of trade secrets. It is the third time Cambeiro has sued Advent.

Two similar suits filed by Cambeiro in U.S. District Court naming Advent as a defendant have failed. The claims made in the most recent suit are claims that the federal judges did not rule upon.

Advent said the latest suit amounts to harassment.

"Cambeiro has harassed me for several years with civil actions in an attempt to win a case that has no merit," Advent said by phone from New York. "Desperate people do desperate things."

Attempts to contact Cambeiro for comment failed.

Cambeiro alleges it was approached in 1993 by Americon Companies Inc. on behalf of Advent about preparing a design for a New York-themed shopping mall.

Cambeiro developed a design incorporating replicas of the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge, the World Trade Center and the Statue of Liberty, the suit states.

Thereafter, Cambeiro and Americon entered into a confidentiality agreement and the drawings were then given to Advent, the suit alleges.

"Upon the receipt of the Cambeiro Designs and Drawings, Advent and Tri-M Holdings, without consent or authorization from Cambeiro, clandestinely delivered the Cambeiro Designs and Drawings to another licensed, professional architect and requested that architect to modify the Cambeiro Designs and Drawings," the suit states.

Cambeiro alleges Advent submitted or caused to be submitted the latter designs to Primadonna Resorts to use for the New York-New York hotel-casino. Primadonna is a partner in the project with MGM Grand.

Advent said several architects submitted ideas for the New York-themed shopping mall, not just Cambeiro. The mall was never built.

In February, U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben ruled against Cambeiro's claim of copyright infringement.

"The court finds that no reasonable juror could find substantial similarity of ideas and expressive elements between the Cambeiro works and the alleged infringing works," McKibben wrote.