Summary
- On Friday, a Court of Appeals struck down a class-action lawsuit aimed at three prominent Las Vegas casino resorts, delivering a decisive blow to the plaintiffs' case.
- The lawsuit aimed to demonstrate that Wynn Resorts, Caesars, and Treasure Island had conspired to inflate their room prices.
- Both the lower court and, more recently, the Court of Appeals have rejected the argument.
Three major casino resorts in Las Vegas faced accusations in a class-action lawsuit, alleging they had collaborated to fix room prices, thereby limiting competition for customers. However, on Friday, the trio celebrated a victory as they prevailed at a US appeals court, leaving the claims unproven.
Lawsuit against Las Vegas casino resorts dismissed in the Court of Appeals
The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld a previous court ruling, determining that the claimants' argument—asserting that the resorts' shared revenue-management provider indicated a deeper conspiracy—lacked sufficient backbone. The plaintiffs aimed to establish that the trio of property owners had schemed to inflate hotel room prices, yet this claim did not stand up. After its initial dismissal in May, the case found its way to the 9th Circuit through an appeal. In their decision, Circuit Judge Carlos Bea, US District Court Judge Jeffrey Brown, and Circuit Judge Ana de Alba supported the lower court's verdict. They highlighted that using software to optimize revenue from hotel rooms signals a thriving, competitive marketplace, rather than a secretive collusion. The judges saw no evidence of any clandestine communication that enabled the properties to artificially elevate prices to exploit customers. Pricing suggestions offered by such software remain just that—suggestions. Ultimately, it's up to the hotels to choose whether or not to implement them.
