Radisson Suit Alleges Red Line Damage

Owners of the Radisson Wilshire Plaza hotel have filed a lawsuit against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for $20 million in damages, claiming the hotel has lost business and suffered physical damage since Metro Red Line construction began around the property in August, 1991.

Wayne Williams, asset manager for the 396-room hotel at 3515 Wilshire Blvd., said the owners tried to reach a settlement out of court for several months. The agency rejected the hotel’s claims in March.

“We’ve just been stonewalled at every turn by them,” Williams said. “I’ve watched the level of frustration (at the hotel) build, and the MTA’s attitude has added to it.”

Bill Heard, an MTA spokesman, said the hotel did not back up its claims.

“They claimed property damage and economic damage, and we needed proof of that,” Heard said.

Heard said the MTA sent an extensive explanation of the proof needed to the hotel owners earlier this year, but received no answer.

Williams recalls the situation differently.

“They wanted permission for their attorneys to go through our books,” he said. “We had already sent them significant amounts of background material substantiating a loss of business, but they said they wanted access to all records since the hotel started, and we thought that was absurd.”

Continuous noise from construction around the property at Wilshire and Normandie has caused a large number of tour companies, corporations and individual patrons to steer clear of the hotel, Williams said. Street closures impeding access to the hotel have also affected business, he said.

Williams said the hotel owners have also noticed cracks and water seepage throughout the structure.

Several other Wilshire-area businesses have already filed damage claims against the MTA, blaming subway construction for economic losses.