Holiday Inn in Dallas Subject of Lawsuit
Up to 25 Members of a Group Allegedly Had Credit Card Numbers Fraudulently Charged after Check Out
DALLAS, TX, July 24, 2006. Alleging negligence in handling confidential private information, along with breach of contract, an Irving-based physician education company has sued the second-largest commercial property owner in Dallas.
Falcon Physician Reviews, Inc., filed suit in Dallas County District Court (160th) against Younan Hospitality Group LBJ Dallas, L.P. d/b/a Holiday Inn Select North Dallas, which is owned by real estate investor Zaya S.Younan, who also owns 4 million square feet of office and lodging space in Dallas.
Among Younan's properties is the Holiday Inn Select Dallas-North, where the lawsuit alleges that mishandling of certain credit card information took place between September and November of 2005 after students and teachers stayed for several weeks at the hotel. Falcon Physician Reviews conducts intensive courses to help medical school students study for the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination, which they must pass to practice in this country.
"Losses from fraudulently charged credit cards were substantial," said David Curtis, partner at Dallas law firm Shackelford, Melton & McKinley, which is handling Falcon Physician Reviews' lawsuit. Some 25 of Falcon Physician Reviews faculty and students were affected, according to Curtis.
"Credit card losses could just be the beginning," Curtis added. "We hope these issues are contained since identity theft may cause more vulnerability over time."
Other hotel guests not related to Falcon Physician Reviews may also have been affected, but the numbers and extent of their losses is not known at this time, Curtis said.
Curtis stated that Falcon's allegations that the hotel mishandled this highly sensitive personal information could violate the Texas statute requiring businesses to destroy documents containing such information before disposing of them. The fine under the Texas statute is up to $500 per customer record.
"Falcon Physician Review's reputation has been damaged by the Holiday Inn's actions," said Falcon Physician Reviews' Academic Director, Barry Wagner, Ph.D. "In addition to having their credit stolen, our students education was compromised by the Holiday Inn's failure to provide basic hotel services such as Internet access. If their education is compromised, their careers might be compromised."
The lawsuit also claims that the Holiday Inn Select Dallas-North violated its contract with Falcon Physician Reviews by not providing audio/visual equipment, high-speed Internet access, and proper on-site storage. These broken promises imposed hardships on students during their studies and harmed Falcon Physician Reviews' reputation, the suit charges.
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