Regent sues builder

Thursday, March 2, 2000 | 11:24 a.m.

The parent company of Regent Las Vegas, formerly known as the Resort at Summerlin, is demanding more than $200 million in damages from its general contractor in federal court.

A Regent lawsuit accuses J.A. Jones Construction Co. of breach of contract, negligence, fraud and misrepresentation. The company is asking for at least $200 million in compensatory and punitive damages from the Charlotte, N.C., construction company.

The Regent's parent company disclosed the lawsuit in a filing this morning with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing didn't detail its accusations. J.A. Jones could not be reached for comment.

The lawsuit is part of a growing war between the resort, its general contractors, and the project's subcontractors, in a case similar to the legal fight between the Venetian and contractor Lehrer McGovern Bovis. Dozens of subcontractors are claiming they haven't been paid for their work on the Regent Las Vegas, and the Regent and J.A. Jones are blaming each other.

The Regent's lawsuit is related to a $16.6 million lien filed against the property by J.A. Jones in January.

To date, more than 50 liens, totaling about $27 million in claims, have been filed against the Regent by subcontractors involved in the resort's construction. Several of these subcontractors have sued both the resort and J.A. Jones, the project's general contractor, seeking the foreclosure sale of the property.

Jim Fonseca, the resort's former chief operating officer, claimed in a recent lawsuit that construction difficulties ultimately led to his firing on Aug. 30.

The resort also targeted Helix Electric Inc. and Micco Inc., contractors on the project, as defendants in its suit against J.A. Jones.