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Friday, September 17, 1999
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Judge allows additional depositions
Venetian attorneys will be allowed to question LVCVA officials about a planned convention center project.
By Monica Caruso
Review-Journal
A District Court judge ruled Thursday that The Venetian may take the depositions of six members of the board of directors of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to determine if there were violations of the state's open meeting law when the board approved a now stalled proposed expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
But Judge James Mahan ruled against The Venetian's request to gather additional evidence in its lawsuit against the convention authority over the proposed expansion, such as depositions of the authority's staff, consultants and local business executives such as Steve Wynn, chairman of Mirage Resorts, and Billy Vassiliadis, principal of R&R Partners and advertising adviser to the convention authority.
Further, Mahan limited the depositions to one hour and to questions about meetings in June and bonds to finance the $150 million, 1.3 million-square-foot South Hall project that came to a halt in July when The Venetian filed suit against the project. The Venetian is a sister property of the Las Vegas Sands Expo and Convention Center which competes with the convention authority's Convention Center.
Mahan directed attorneys representing the parties in the lawsuit to work together to quickly select and depose six board members, who have yet to be selected, because of the expedited trial scheduled for Oct. 5.
The Venetian's attorney, Stephen Peek, took little satisfaction in the limited victory on his motion to conduct additional discovery.
"Your honor, you're tying my hands again," Peek complained to the judge, referring to Mahan's previous decisions limiting The Venetian's discovery to a deposition from Jan Jones, former Las Vegas mayor and convention authority chairwoman, to determine if there were possible violations of the state's open meeting law.
Mahan expressed concern that Jones' deposition of two hours was too long and went beyond issues in the case, including questions about her hairdresser.
"Half (of Jones' deposition) was dealing with tangential issues," Mahan said.
The convention authority's attorney, Steve Morris, also wasn't pleased with Mahan's decision to allow The Venetian to take additional depositions.
The depositions go beyond the convention authority's record of proceedings about the expansion project, Morris said. Case history supports that courts look at only the record of proceedings involving decisions by governmental bodies, he said.
However, the judge said the depositions are needed to determine if there is any indication of violations of the open meeting law regarding approval of the expansion project.
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