Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

COURTS:

Robin Leach, others sue Cosmopolitan

Entertainment columnist Robin Leach and Las Vegas show producers Norbert Aleman and Jeff Gitlin filed a class action lawsuit Thursday in District Court, alleging the operators of the Cosmopolitan fraudulently induced them into buying condominium units at the unfinished Strip resort.

Named as defendants in the 19-page complaint are former Cosmopolitan owner 3700 Associates LLC and German financial giant Deutsche Bank, which foreclosed on $900 million in construction loans to 3700 Associates last year. Deutsche Bank affiliate Nevada Property 1 LLC, which the suit said now has “all or part ownership of the Cosmopolitan,” also is a defendant.

Leach, whose “Celebrity Watch” column appears on the Sun’s Web site, and his fellow plaintiffs alleged in the suit that when they bought their units, they were misled into believing the resort would open by the end of 2008. Instead, because of construction delays, the default on the loans and the foreclosure, the project may not be completed until the end of 2010 or later, the suit alleged.

As a result, the suit charged, the Cosmopolitan defendants breached their legal agreements with the trio.

Leach, Aleman and Gitlin all are demanding to be let out of their agreements, and they want the return of their deposits, as well as additional restitution and damages.

Aleman is the creator of the Riviera production shows “Crazy Girls” and “An evening at La Cage,” which just closed. Gitlin produces “Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding” at Planet Hollywood and elsewhere in the country.

The three men also say in their lawsuit that they meet the requirements to sue on behalf of 500 people from across the nation who made similar down payments on condominium units.

A Cosmopolitan representative said late Friday that the resort and Deutsche Bank do not comment on “matters of pending litigation.”

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