LV hotel-casino sued by rock band

Monday, Nov. 29, 1999 | 11:22 a.m.

Rock band Three Dog Night, Hutton Music Inc. and Blue Water Inc. sued the Silverton hotel-casino, alleging it misled the public by advertising and promoting a former band member's solo Labor Day concert as a Three Dog Night event.

In a Clark County District Court suit, Three Dog's lead singers David Hutton and Cory Wells alleged the group suffered negative publicity and financial losses because Silverton tried to attract its fans by advertising Charles Negron's solo concert as a Three Dog act over the same weekend Three Dog was scheduled to perform at the Stardust hotel-casino.

The suit said Silverton's electronic billboards and banners allegedly continued to advertise Three Dog's performance on Sep. 5 at Silverton casino in the weeks preceeding the 1999 Labor Day weekend despite indications from Silverton's legal counsel Scott Eldredge that corrections would be made.

The plaintiffs said their legal counsel had notified both Silverton casino and the Las Vegas Review-Journal they were misappropriating Three Dog's trademark and said the Review-Journal had removed the advertisement.

The suit alleged Negron stopped performing with the group after 1985 and agreed in May 1990 that Hutton and Wells were entitled to continue performing under the name Three Dog Night, while Negron was allowed to use the phrase, "formerly of Three Dog Night." The rock group began in 1968.

The suit said Silverton ignored the terms of the 1990 agreement, which states Negron must use the phrase in conjunction with his name.

The defendants could not be reached for comment.