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Monday, Jan. 25, 2010 | 12:58 p.m.
Sun Archives
Ed Scheetz
Michelle Hatchel
Related Document (.pdf)
A confidential settlement has been reached in a lawsuit blaming a former Las Vegas Hard Rock hotel-casino executive and his alleged sex-and-drug-oriented lifestyle for the 2007 drug overdose death of his girlfriend.
The family of the girlfriend, 23-year-old Michelle Hatchel, filed suit in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas last Aug. 28 against Ed Scheetz, former chief executive of New York-based Morgans Hotel Group Co.; and against Morgans Hotel Group, which co-owns and manages the Hard Rock.
The suit charged Hatchel, who Las Vegas police said was found dead of a drug overdose in a luxury Turnberry Towers condominium on Aug. 29, 2007, had received the cocaine and oxycodone that killed her from Scheetz and that she was "assaulted and battered" while staying with Scheetz just prior to her death.
Morgans as a defendant was accused along with Scheetz of leasing the condominium where Hatchel died and Morgans was accused of condoning Scheetz's alleged promiscuous and drug-abusing lifestyle that Hatchel's family claimed contributed to her death.
The suit was dismissed Jan. 7 with attorneys for Scheetz and Morgans Hotel Group never having filed court papers responding to the allegations.
Attorneys for Scheetz, Stanley S. Arkin and Peter B. Pope of the New York law firm Arkin Kaplan Rice LLP, issued this statement about the settlement: "In August 2007 Michelle Hatchel died of a drug overdose. Her life and death were tragic. Even though our client was never served with legal papers and three of the four plaintiffs had no legal standing to bring a wrongful death suit, our client and his business associates decided to settle the lawsuit to bring closure to the Hatchel family and to end the slanderous and bogus accusations against Ed Scheetz by the plaintiffs’ attorney and consultant."
Attorneys for Hatchel's family could not immediately be reached for comment Monday on the settlement. Officials at Morgans also could not be reached and it wasn't clear if Morgans participated in the settlement.
The August lawsuit seeking $645 million in damages was filed on behalf of Hatchel's mother, Kim Hatchel; as well as Michelle Hatchel's grandmother, brother and aunt.
Three weeks after Hatchel died, Morgans said Scheetz resigned as Morgans president and chief executive officer for personal reasons.
The lawsuit said Hatchel had been traumatized by the deaths of friends in the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 and Scheetz capitalized on her emotional troubles to induce her into drug use and sexual activity. Hatchel was a resident of Colorado, where she had met Scheetz at a Denver nightclub in 2005 and had a relationship with him, the suit said.
It said a wrongful death suit filed against Scheetz by Hatchel's father has already been settled for a substantial sum by Scheetz "and/or other named defendants."
It said in the summer of 2007, Hatchel was flown to New York to be with Scheetz on a flight arranged by Scheetz's secretary at Morgans and then was flown to Las Vegas on Morgans' private jet.
After arriving in Las Vegas, Scheetz was spending time with both Hatchel and an ex-girlfriend of Scheetz and in phone calls and text messages to friends, Hatchel expressed unhappiness with the ex-girlfriend's presence and feared for her safety, the lawsuit charges. The ex-girlfriend was also named as a defendant in the now-dismissed suit.
As for the alleged role of Morgans and the Hard Rock in Hatchel's death, the suit charged:
"A part of the Hard Rock marketing’s strategy its target demographic patrons included hedonistic sexually permissive and promiscuous lifestyle which also included use of illegal and/or illegally obtained ... controlled substances including but not limited to cocaine and oxycodone and as CEO of said named corporate defendants, defendant Scheetz's own lifestyle ... was a living example of said Hard Rock image and all of his actions, inactions, and/or omissions herein were within the course and scope of his employment."
Comment removed by moderator. Comment contained offensive language.
I was bedside in the ER with my elderly father one evening and overheard the girl in the next space. She had been injured in an accident in a nightclub when a glass dropped from an upper level fell and lacerated her forearm. When the physician asked her how old she was she said she was 19. When he asked if she'd been drinking she said yes. When he asked about her medical history she told him that she had already had breast implants.
Drugs and alcohol are very dangerous things to be messing around with. Also young girls infatuated with rich executives are playing with fire. These guys are just looking to abuse and exploit young girls who are mesmerized by lots of money, expensive cars and homes. They usually end up like this poor sad child. Rest in Peace Michelle, and to all the other Michelles out there, watch out!
No, this is another girl who abused drugs and alcohol and whose family cannot face the truth. Therefore, someone has to be at fault. Great payday for her family, who, had they been the family she needed, would have had her in rehab and helped her with her addictions. No, stop blaming the wealthy exectuive. No one put a gun to her head and told her to take drugs and drink excessively. At 19, no matter how much money was involved, she knew exactly what she was doing. I have no sympathy at all. When will the public expect people to take some responsibility for their actions. Or is it always going to be about a big payday in the end.
The family saw a pot of honey and licked it clean. Lucky for them she hooked up with someone with $ .
I can't wait til I'm rich and powerful...
open use of cocaine and other drugs is prevalent at the hard rock, even to this day. Underage drinking is also not only prevalent, but encouraged by Hard Rock employees. I lived with two girls, ages 19 and 20, who were both very attractive. Not a weekend went by that a VIP host from the Hard Rock or the Wynn didn't call to invite them to the nightclubs to "entertain" celebrities and wealthy clients. I heard many monday morning stories of "breakfast off the mirrors" and the "C-diet." Thankfully both of those girls got straight and left Las Vegas alive. ironically enough, it wasn't until after they were of legal drinking age, commonly reffered to as "trade in age"
If reading between the lines means this girl was a "paid" (non monetary or maybe there was money) friend of the group, although a tragic end, when you mess with drugs, money and sex at any age (and there was a big difference in ages here) someone wil lget burned..doesnt seem like love was involved..Ladies, look at the Tiger events, this even, etc..Vegas IS money, sex, booze and rock / roll..you play with fire to get the lifestyle...
i fully agree with you lawgal4u
Why doesn't Metro crack down on open illegal drugs ? No,they are too busy 'busting' topless pools.
The only thing any good about the Hard Rock is to go there and gawk at the silicone on the strippers from across the street , and fake tans on all the little UNLV chicks. Just about everyone in that place is trying to be someone they are NOT. That is rich, rock n roll stars, movie celebs. etc. The gambling SUX they are ripping off all those young people who don't know the first thing about gambling to begin with, but throw their money down just to be cool. The place is basically a joke!
lawgal4u :
I sincerely doubt you would take the position you have above, had Michelle been your daughter..
Wow, all of these comments are truly sad and depressing. If this is really the way Vegas is, then shame on the Casino operators, the Gaming Control Board, and all who have let this evolution take place.
I disagree. I've won a very large amount of money playing craps at the Hard Rock. And open drugs are only condoned if you have a million dollar bank account. If you think they are different than any other casino in Vegas, you're out of your mind. If a high roller at the Bellagio is a coke head, you think they're gonna kick him out?
Legalgal I agree..Wonder where her loving and sue happy family was when she was getting high... Why didnt they care enough to intervene and get her some help before this happened...Obviously they didnt care until they figured out how much she was worth dead,, because of this guy Scheetz... Life in America,, isnt it great... Anyways doesnt this Scheetz guy look almost like a young Mr. Rogers... Wonder if they did drugs in his neighborhood........
see what money does. money makes u look handsome. he one fugly motherf*****
Vegas is a wonderland if you have money and power...It can be hell on earth if you don't and you are a pawn of those who do...
Just another sin city special....Sad
Many parents by their daughters implants in the hopes that someday their daughters will catch themselves a Scheetz. Scheetz like most of las vegas execs is a piece of garbage who plies young women with drugs and alcohol.
Why doesn't metro do something? Where does metro spend it's free time? The night clubs and strip clubs.
These clubs regularly allow in minors from 14 on up.
great post "big dan"well said