Hilton Lawsuit - Hilton Resort - WDW

Hakunamatata

Hakunamatata

Le Meh
Premium Member
For those interested....Note that this notice is to give you the opportunity to opt out of the class, not get any money....

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT
FOR THE TWENTIETH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
ST. CLAIR COUNTY, ILLINOIS


THOMAS L. MAULDING, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated,
Plaintiff,
v.
HILTON HOTELS CORPORATION,
Defendant.
No. 02-L-0645



SHORT-FORM E-MAIL NOTICE OF PROPOSED CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

Maulding v. Hilton Hotels Corporation is a nationwide class action lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of St. Clair County, Illinois, challenging resort fees charged by eleven Hilton Resort Hotels prior to January 1, 2004. The resort fees consisted of bundled per-night charges for resort services and amenities charged in addition to the per-night room rate. The following hotels (hereinafter referred to as the "Participating Hotels") are participating in the settlement: (1) The Doubletree Golf Resort in San Diego, California; (2) The Doubletree Surfcomber in Miami, Florida; (3) The Doubletree Guest Suites Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida; (4) The Embassy Suites Deerfield Beach in Deerfield Beach, Florida; (5) The Hilton Sedona Resort & Spa (previously known as the Doubletree Sedona) in Sedona, Arizona; (6) The Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort in Phoenix, Arizona; (7) The Pointe Hilton Tapatio Clifffs Resort in Phoenix, Arizona; (8) The Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort in Waikoloa, Hawaii; (9) The Hilton Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida; (10) The Hilton Myrtle Beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and (11) The Hilton Palm Springs in Palm Springs, California. Members of the class include all persons who stayed at a Participating Hotel prior to January 1, 2004, paid a resort fee, and either did not receive notice that the resort fee was being charged, or believe they were misinformed about the resort fee. Excluded from the class are persons who stayed at a Participating Hotel pursuant to a written group contract, persons residing in Mississippi or Montana, and all current and former employees of Hilton Hotels Corporation.

After several years of litigation, the parties in the case have reached a Settlement Agreement. The Settlement Agreement provides that each of the Participating Hotels will discount its resort fee, on an ongoing basis, by 75%, until it has foregone a total of 22.5% of the total resort fee it collected prior to January 1, 2004. If the Court approves the settlement, future lawsuits by class members against Hilton Hotels Corporation related to the resort fee will be prohibited. St. Clair County Circuit Court Judge Michael J. O' Malley will decide whether to approve the settlement at a hearing in Belleville, Illinois on November 14, 2006, at 10:00 AM. In order to remain in the class, you need to do nothing. To request exclusion from the class, you must send a letter so stating to counsel for the class before October 16, 2006. To file an objection to the settlement, you must send a letter to counsel for the class and the Court before October 16, 2006. You can find out more information about this class action and the Final Approval Hearing, get a complete copy of the parties' Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement and Release of Claims and other related documents, and locate contact information for the court and counsel for the class, at www.hiltonresortfeesettlement.com, or by calling the toll-free information line, (866) 702-3588.
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Epcot82Guy

Epcot82Guy

Well-Known Member
Yep. I got that from my Hilton HHonors account. However, I haven't stayed at any of the listed hotels, so I didn't get gyped out of any cash.
 
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CRO-Magnum

CRO-Magnum

Active Member
Pretty indicative of how crazy things are...

...in the world of litigation. The settlement appears to be a joke and if so then the lawsuit is a joke. I'm guessing that A) the resort fees weren't exorbitant, B) people would have paid if notified and C) there was no way to opt out. How sad it was litigated for years! I'm willing to bet the $$$ spent litigating is greater than the sum of fees collected at those hotels.

Big whoop!

Thanks for the posting - wouldn't have found out about it any other way...unless perhaps I actually read my HHonors stuff...
 
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Hakunamatata

Hakunamatata

Le Meh
Premium Member
Original Poster
CRO-Magnum said:
...in the world of litigation. The settlement appears to be a joke and if so then the lawsuit is a joke. I'm guessing that A) the resort fees weren't exorbitant, B) people would have paid if notified and C) there was no way to opt out. How sad it was litigated for years! I'm willing to bet the $$$ spent litigating is greater than the sum of fees collected at those hotels.

Big whoop!

Thanks for the posting - wouldn't have found out about it any other way...unless perhaps I actually read my HHonors stuff...
Click to expand...

I agree. There will be more money paid in attorney's fees than in restitution.
 
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BRER STITCH

BRER STITCH

Well-Known Member
The Settlement Agreement provides that each of the Participating Hotels will discount its resort fee, on an ongoing basis, by 75%, until it has foregone a total of 22.5% of the total resort fee it collected prior to January 1, 2004.

A lot of good that does for the people who already paid it.

This is so silly.

Lots of hotels have begun adding on "resort fees" strictly to add room revenue by saying that it covers things like local phone calls, use of pool, in-room safe, etc. It's absurd. There's obviously some accounting voodoo going on that allows the property to keep all of this fee instead of having to pay franchise fees or taxes or something else on it.

Instead of charging $10 more per night for the room, they came up with this gimmick and I'm glad someone challenged it.

The outcome, however, will simply be that it is printed in a larger font size and have to be initialed by the guest when checking in.

So silly.

:fork:


"I'm not a genius...but I play one on TV!"
 
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