Morgans says lawsuit ‘is without merit’
A day after owners of the Orlando-based Hard Rock Cafe restaurant chain sued the ownership of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas over its name, New York-based Morgans Hotel Group responded.
Morgans, a company entirely separate from the cafe chain, owns 14.2 percent of the Hard Rock and operates it day-to-day.
According to the lawsuit, Hard Rock Cafe said the casino is a place that "revels in drunken debauchery." The party image has damaged the name enough to justify ending a 14-year-old licensing agreement.
"We believe this suit is without merit,” an unnamed Morgan’s spokesman said in a statement forwarded by the Hard Rock Las Vegas publicity department. “We have no further comment."