Legal insurer wants out of casino design case

Grace Leong

Wednesday, July 25, 2001 | 10:27 a.m.

A legal malpractice insurer is disclaiming responsibility for claims made by a law firm representing Las Vegas architect Domingo Cambeiro in a legal battle over the design of the New York-New York hotel-casino on the Strip.

American Guarantee & Liability Insurance Co. sued the Las Vegas law firm of Gordon & Silver Ltd. and one of its lawyers, Joseph Kistler; Cambeiro, his wife Sandra and his company Domingo Cambeiro Professional Corp. in U.S. District Court. Also sued were casino designer Mark Advent and his company, Tri-M Holdings Inc.

At issue is whether insurance claims by Kistler and his law firm -- who were sued last year by Cambeiro for alleged poor representation and were sued by Advent for malicious prosecution, abuse of process and defamation -- are covered by their American Guarantee legal malpractice insurance policies.

Advent was sued three times by Cambeiro between 1996 and 1998. Advent was accused of pilfering designs used for New York-New York and infringing copyrights.

Advent, who won two of those three lawsuits, sued Cambeiro and his attorney on March 3, 2000. Advent alleged he was harassed by lawsuits even after he won in 1998 a summary judgment disposing all of Cambeiro's claims in the first lawsuit filed in 1996.

Cambeiro, after he was sued by Advent, sued Kistler and his employer on Dec. 28, 2000, alleging negligence and malpractice when they allegedly failed to timely file a notice of appeal of the March 1998 order granting summary judgment to Advent.

But American Guarantee said it has no obligation to indemnify Kistler's claims because his policies don't cover for damages arising from "deliberately wrongful, malicious or intentional acts." American Guarantee also said Gordon & Silver's claims weren't timely filed.

Paul Schofield, Cambeiro's attorney, declined comment on the specifics of American Guarantee's suit.

But he said: "Cambeiro, after the fact, found errors and omissions in his legal representation by Kistler and Gordon & Silver that cost Cambeiro's firm an extensive amount of money. That's why Cambeiro sued Kistler. American Guarantee would be the company liable for damages if Gordon & Silver are found responsible."

Kistler could not be reached for comment on the lawsuit.