Tahoe Hard Rock sued by Reno contractor
Bill O'Driscoll
bodriscoll@rgj.com
Four months into operations, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe is being taken to court.
SMC Construction of Reno is suing the resort's owners, David and Jon Park doing business as Neva One LLC, for failing to pay more than $6 million for work done in time for its grand opening on Jan. 28.
In the suit filed in Douglas County District Court in Minden, SMC cites a "frenzied" schedule due to pressure from Neva One to complete work in the final month, resulting in overtime and other costs that doubled the original $9.65 million contract agreed to last August.
SMC officials did not return calls from the Reno Gazette-Journal, but the suit states the firm has submitted bills to Neva One LLC totaling $18.9 million but seeks payments due in January and February totaling $6.15 million.
In a news release on Hard Rock Hotel & Casino letterhead, Neva One LLC said the issue involves "change orders" issued by SMC for its work on the lower floors of the resort, formerly the Horizon, where the casino, restaurants and renovations with a rock 'n' roll theme were done.
"We understand that change orders will occur on any major construction project," Jon Park, manager of Neva One LLC, said in a statement. "Our contract requires that supporting documentation must be provided in this situation. There are certain things that we need to see, including the backup information, in order to process the change orders."
In his own statement, David Park said he and his brother, who acquired the former Horizon resort property at Stateline early last year and have put $60 million into its rebranding as the Hard Rock Lake Tahoe, are "hesitant" to speak publicly because of "legal considerations."
He added, "Our preference has been to resolve this directly with the parties involved rather than airing this dispute in the media."
The Hard Rock's operations, including its 25,000-square-foot casino and 539 hotel rooms and suites, are not affected by the lawsuit, the Parks said.
The site, just east of Harvey's and Harrah's Tahoe along U.S. Highway 50 near the Nevada-California border, dates to the 1960s when it operated as the Sahara Tahoe resort where music legends including Elvis Presley performed onstage.