MGM says no deal
FM Global, the insurance company that covered the construction of CityCenter in Las Vegas, including the ill-fated Harmon Hotel, has offered to pay $55 million in compensation for the structure, which was never finished, has never been occupied, and will soon be demolished.
In a district court in Clark County, CityCenter, which is managed and half-owned by MGM Resorts International, did not accept the offer.
“The problem is that FM Global has attached a number of conditions to it,” CityCenter attorney Mark Ferrario said.
George Ogilvie III, attorney for former general contractor Perini Building, which has been blamed for the structural defects in the Harmon, said the payment was “unreasonable” and insufficient. Also at issue for the litigating parties is who will benefit if the payment goes through. Perini would be in line for a credit if CityCenter won damages at a trial.
CityCenter has filed a $393.8 million claim with FM Global, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. It has repeatedly said that defects, including inadequate structural reinforcement that reportedly made the building vulnerable to collapse, made the Harmon a complete loss.
Perini’s experts say the building could be fixed for just under $20 million.
District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez ruled that CityCenter must collect from FM Global before it can collect from Perini and other subcontractors.
MGM had hoped to begin demolishing the 26-story Harmon one floor at a time in December. That work was suspended because FM Global said it needed to conduct more on-site investigations.
