One of the longest-running court cases in Nevada history ended Thursday when casino giant Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Hong Kong businessman Richard Suen reached an undisclosed settlement in their 15-year-old legal skirmish over how much help Suen provided the company in opening its first Macau casino.
The announcement, as the second day of hearings in the case were getting underway, came after attorneys for both sides sparred over how much Suen should be compensated for his role in the company’s licensing process.
Richard Suen
Richard Suen’s attorney, John O’Malley, said Suen and his company, Round Square Co., should get almost $347 million. Sands attorney Richard Sauber said Suen earned no more than $3.76 million.
According to the Associated Press, Suen emerged from a Las Vegas courtroom saying it was worth the 15-year legal battle. Sands attorney James Jimmerson and O’Malley called the terms confidential and said it was a fair end to the case.
Las Vegas Sands spokesman Ron Reese said the company “declined to comment” on the settlement. As a public company, Las Vegas Sands may ultimately have to report the amount of the settlement.
“We’re very pleased to have this case finally resolved after 15 years,” O’Malley told CDC Gaming. “We can’t talk about the amount. This settlement completely resolves the litigation.”
The Associated Press reported that Sauber told jurors the sides had reached “an amicable settlement and resolution.”
Clark County District Judge Rob Bare announced the settlement as he dismissed jurors ahead of a second day of videotaped testimony from Sands Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson. The 85-year-old billionaire is suffering from non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and was excused from testifying in the trial because of the effects from his treatment.
Third trial
The trial was third time a Clark County jury heard evidence surrounding the amount of help Suen had in helping Las Vegas Sands land its Macau gaming license. Adelson had testified in the two previous trials.
Suen initially filed suit in 2004, saying his Hong Kong-based Round Square Co. had helped open doors for Las Vegas Sands as Macau was looking to expand its gaming market. He asserted that Las Vegas Sands breached an agreement to pay him a success fee of $5 million plus 2 percent of the net profit of the company’s Macau resort operations.
Suen won jury verdicts and multimillion-dollar judgments in the two previous trials, in 2008 and 2013, but the Nevada Supreme Court remanded the case back to the District Court each time.
Las Vegas Sands has become one of the largest casino operators in Macau, with five major resort developments. In 2018, the company collected $8.67 billion in revenue from its Macau operations, 63 percent of the company’s $13.72 billion in revenues.
In May 2008, a jury found in favor of Suen and awarded him $44 million. The Nevada Supreme Court in November 2010 reversed the judgement and ordered a new trial. In May 2013, a second jury found in favor of Suen and awarded him $70 million. With interest, the judgement was worth $101 million.
However, in March 2016, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment in favor of Suen, but also sent the case back to District Court to determine the amount of damages he should be awarded. Bare heard the 2013 case and was overseeing the new trial.
Other cases
The settlement marked the third time the company has confidentially ended litigation surrounding its Macau casinos.
in 2009, Las Vegas Sands paid three men $42.5 million to settle lawsuit over their assistance in the Macau licensing efforts. The settlement was initially undisclosed, but the company revealed the amount during a quarterly earnings release, saying the figure contributed to its net loss.
In May 2016, Las Vegas Sands settled a six-year-long lawsuit filed by Steven Jacobs, a former top executive of its Macau operations, for an undisclosed amount. Jacobs sued Sands for wrongful termination in 2010, claiming he was fired “for blowing the whistle on improprieties and placing the interests of shareholders above those of Adelson.”
Adelson countersued and repeatedly denied Jacobs’ allegations, saying the former employee was acting on his own.
Shares of Las Vegas Sands closed at $59.42 on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, up 8 cents, or 0.13 percent.
(Associated Press writer Ken Ritter contributed to this report.)
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
