LAS VEGAS, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- A dispute over an uncompleted and allegedly dangerous hotel tower in Las Vegas has gone to the Nevada Supreme Court.
CityCenter, the development that includes the Harmon Tower, asked the court Thursday to reverse a ruling that an expert's extrapolation technique to determine whether the building is beyond repair cannot be used in court, the Las Vegas Sun reported. CityCenter asked the court to handle the case as an emergency, saying the legal dispute could delay the tower's demolition.
Gary Hart, a structural engineering expert, examined 397 elements in the tower and said 396 were defective.
City Center, in its filing, said Hart then extrapolated, based on 40 years of experience in the field, that more than 1,000 other structural elements were flawed.
The 26-story tower, built at a cost of $275 million, was supposed to be one of CityCenter's anchors but has never been completed.
Tutor Perini Building Corp., the lead contractor, says the building could be made safe and that CityCenter is pushing for demolition because of an oversupply of hotel rooms in Las Vegas. Tutor Perini is seeking $191 million it says is still owed.
The trial is scheduled for June.
