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Trump-branded hotel sued for bailing on music event

By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 9 August 2022

Just a few days before yesterday’s raid by the feds on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, another Trump property in the US state – or, at least, one that has licensed the use of his name and brand – was sued by concert organiser 4U Promotions Inc.

The promotions company is suing the Trump International Beach Resort in Sunny Isles Beach near Miami over allegations it back-tracked on a commitment to host a multi-day event later this year.

Among other things, 4U Promotions – or 4UP for short – has in the past staged an annual rock n roll themed cruise. That hasn’t been possible for the last couple of years because of the pandemic, so instead this year the company planned an event in Miami called the Decades Of Rock & Roll Cruise Reunion. And earlier this year 4UP reached out to the Trump-branded resort to discuss it hosting that event.

In a lawsuit filed last week, 4UP states: “In February 2022, 4UP contacted [the] Trump Resort to secure hotel rooms and performance space for the event. On or about 18 Feb, Penny Greene, the Sales And Marketing Director of 4UP, began working with Maria Daniel Espina, Director Of Sales for the Trump Resort, to reserve the rooms and performance space necessary for the event”.

“On or before 31 Mar 2022, 4UP and the Trump Resort had agreed on the terms of a contract for the rooms and performance space for the event”, it goes on. “In reliance on the agreed upon terms between 4UP and the Trump Resort, Ms Greene continued to market the event, and Ms Greene ceased any further efforts to find hotel performance space apart from the space agreed to by the Trump Resort”.

Then, “on or about 1 Apr 2022, in reliance on the agreed upon terms between 4UP and the Trump Resort, 4UP began to promote the event, naming the Trump Resort as the hotel and venue for the event. On 1 Apr 2022, in reliance on the agreed upon terms between 4UP and the Trump Resort, 4UP began taking deposits for the rooms for the event at the Trump Resort”.

According to the lawsuit, after terms were agreed on 31 Mar, Espina said she would prepare a formal document setting everything out in writing. A couple of weeks later Greene chased that document, while also stressing to Espina that she was travelling on a regular basis, so any contract should be emailed rather than sent in physical form.

In mid-April, the lawsuit adds, Espina responded to Greene “thanking her for her patience, and reporting that she would prepare and send the agreement to Ms Greene within the next few days”.

But no document ever materialised. “The parties did not communicate between 19 Apr 2022 and 25 Jul”, the lawsuit goes on. “On or about 25 July 2022 at 1.52pm, Ms Greene sent an email to Ms Espina to report that Ms Greene had not received the agreement by either physical mail or by email”.

And that’s when it became clear there was a problem. “On or about 25 Jul 2022 at 4pm, Ms Espina sent an email to Ms Greene indicating that Ms Espina ‘thought you [Ms Greene] had found another venue’ and that the Trump Resort would not be honouring the ‘dates of 6-10 Oct 2022′”.

Insisting that “neither 4UP nor Ms Greene had ever suggested to either the Trump Resort or Ms Espina that 4UP had found another venue for the event”, the events company reckons that that constitutes the Trump hotel back-tracking on what was agreed in March.

To that end 4UP is suing the resort – and specifically the company that operates it, 18001 Holdings LLC – for breach of contract and common law fraud, among other things.