Tourist sues Hard Rock Hotel over incident with security

A tourist from Minnesota has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas charging defamation, false imprisonment and assault over an Oct. 12 incident with hotel security.

The lawsuit says Ryan Maurer was awakened at 4 a.m. by hotel security and was detained over mistaken allegations of a domestic disturbance in his room.

Maurer, who is represented by Las Vegas attorney Sigal Chattah, seeks more than $3 million in damages, according to the complaint.

In the complaint, Maurer said there was no disturbance since he was alone in his room. Also in the compliant, Maurer said he told hotel security workers that he was recording the incident on his cell phone. Then, the complaint claims, security workers "slapped the phone out of his hand and attempted to turn it off."

Maurer said Metropolitan Police officers later told him that he was being evicted for "failure to comply" and that he was arrested for trespassing.

He claims in the lawsuit that hotel security and police officers detained him in a holding room for approximately 30 minutes.

"A visitor to a hotel does have a certain right to privacy," said Maggie McLetchie, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada. "Security guards just can't come into a room, search it and do what they want."

She said Nevada law limits how hotel security guards can detain guests.

"It's not a good idea to detain guests without conducting an investigation," McLetchie said. "It's not good for business."

McLetchie cited the ACLU's federal lawsuit over the treatment of street performers as an example of overzealous behavior by security guards.

The lawsuit, which was filed against the police department, Sheriff Doug Gillespie and The Venetian, accuses hotel security officers of kidnapping brothers Jason and Sebastian Perez-Morciglio and detaining them for more than an hour before kicking them off the property.

The two street performers dressed as Zorro and Darth Vader were performing on the Strip in front of The Venetian when they were confronted. The lawsuit also alleges two Las Vegas police officers illegally handcuffed and searched them at the hotel-casino.

"It's important to note that many times hotel security guards are empowered by Metro police officers that are just serving as backup," McLetchie said.

Officer Barbara Morgan, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police, said she couldn't comment on Maurer's lawsuit. She said Las Vegas police officers "enforce Nevada law and don't enforce the policies of the casino."

Maurer claims security officers unlawfully struck him and defamed him by parading him in handcuffs through the hotel in view of hotel patrons.

The complaint also claims Maurer was "subject to taunting, verbal abuse, and repeatedly threatened and accused of being 'stupid and noncompliant.'"

Jessie Pound, the Hard Rock Hotel's senior public relations manager, said the property does not comment on pending litigation.

Maurer's lawsuit, filed Dec. 27 in Clark County District Court, also alleges confidential business documents were wrongly searched, reviewed and commented on by security officers.

Contact reporter Chris Sieroty at
csieroty@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893.