Hotel & Hospitality

Overview

The hotel and hospitality industry is built upon exceptional customer experience, service and value. The lawyers in our Hotel and Hospitality Industry team strive to deliver the same to our clients. We provide advice and solutions to our clients from planning and startup, to business formation, operation, and winding down – and everything in between. More specifically, our services include:

Corporate and finance, including organization, compliance and business transactions
Employment and labor, benefits and executive compensation
Real estate and environmental
Intellectual property, including licensing and trademark
Business disputes and litigation, including contract disputes, real estate and construction litigation, consumer litigation and general litigation
Tort litigation, including premise liability, Dram Shop litigation, negligent security, building code and property defects, third-party liability, product and warranty liability and respondent superior actions
Estate, tax & financial planning, including business succession planning and stockholder agreements
Liquor licensing
Debtor/creditor issues and asset protection
Government investigations and actions

As a result of our deep and broad experience, our lawyers counsel a wide range of hospitality enterprises. These include developers, owners and operators of hotels, restaurants and restaurant chains and franchises, resorts, bars, country clubs, breweries, theatres, entertainment facilities and sports venues. We also represent caterers and food service businesses, event-planning services, museums and other educational institutions, transportation companies, product manufacturers and distributors, as well as various other vendors and businesses serving the hospitality industry.

Experience

Obtaining a preliminary injunction keeps a craft brewery in business

When a craft brewery in Massachusetts was told that it had violated its lease, it could have put them out of business and killed a key part of its town’s revitalization. The dispute was over the presence of food trucks and live music. We prevailed at a preliminary injunction stage because the judge was persuaded by our client’s real life story. We were aggressive in making our case, written and oral, and it was the right strategy, since a preliminary injunction has to meet a very high legal standard. Pending final resolution, our client is still operating…business as usual.

Other experience

Site plan approval from municipal planning board for $65 million redevelopment of existing structure into large hotel and resort; successfully entered into tax increment financing agreement with municipality and obtained approval by Economic Assistance Coordinating Council (“EACC”), attaining maximum available municipal personal property tax relief and investment tax credits
Hotel and resort against claims before EACC by labor union alleging violations of state labor laws
Restaurant in class action suit alleging violation of Fair Credit Reporting Act
Hotel condominium association in action against condominium builders arising from construction defects
Owner of large resort hotel and golf course in sale of property and hotel
Assisted hotels in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island and Florida in obtaining construction and equipment financing
Bar/restaurant in administrative proceedings and Superior Court action successfully appealing ABCC suspension of liquor license
Privately-owned frozen food distributor in minority shareholder litigation
Food service business in partnership dispute
Cutlery manufacturer in product liability action involving alleged faulty packaging
Restaurant/bar seeking zoning approval for parking lot expansion beyond municipal ordinance
National fast food chain in need of special permit from municipal Zoning Board of Appeals in order to construct drive-through window at new location
Coordinated with municipal officials in Departments of Public Works and Code Enforcement and advised architects and engineers during design-development, pre-construction phase of new fast food chain restaurant
Restaurant co-owner during winding-down and dissolution of business
Provide regular assistance to multiple educational institutions and other entities in obtaining temporary liquor licenses for special events and compliance with licensing regulations