Falcon Physician Reviews v Younan Hospitality Group, Holiday Inn Select Dallas-North
Physician Education Company Sues Holiday Inn Select Dallas-North
A physician education company filed a lawsuit against the second-largest commercial property owner in Dallas. The lawsuit alleges negligence in handling confidential private information and breach of contract.
Falcon Physician Reviews, Inc., filed suit in Dallas against Younan Hospitality Group LBJ Dallas, L.P. d/b/a Holiday Inn Select North Dallas, which is owned by real estate investor Zaya S.Younan, who also owns 4 million square feet of office and lodging space in Dallas.
Among Younan's properties is the Holiday Inn Select Dallas-North, where the lawsuit alleges that mishandling of certain credit card information took place between September and November of 2005 after students and teachers stayed for several weeks at the hotel. Falcon Physician Reviews conducts intensive courses to help medical school students study for the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination, which they must pass to practice in the USA.
"Losses from fraudulently charged credit cards were substantial," said an attorney handling Falcon Physician Reviews' lawsuit. Some 25 of Falcon Physician Reviews faculty and students were affected, according to the lawyer. "Credit card losses could just be the beginning, we hope these issues are contained since identity theft may cause more vulnerability over time" the attorney continued.
Other hotel guests not related to Falcon Physician Reviews may also have been affected, but the numbers and extent of their losses is not known at this time, claims one of the lawyers handling the case.
Attorneys claim that Falcon's allegations that the hotel mishandled this highly sensitive personal information could violate the Texas statute requiring businesses to destroy documents containing such information before disposing of them. The fine under the Texas statute is up to $500 per customer record.
"Falcon Physician Review's reputation has been damaged by the Holiday Inn's actions," said Falcon Physician Reviews' Academic Director. "In addition to having their credit stolen, our students education was compromised by the Holiday Inn's failure to provide basic hotel services such as Internet access. If their education is compromised, their careers might be compromised."
The lawsuit also claims that the Holiday Inn Select Dallas-North violated its contract with Falcon Physician Reviews by not providing audio/visual equipment, high-speed Internet access, and proper on-site storage. These broken promises imposed hardships on students during their studies and harmed Falcon Physician Reviews' reputation, the suit charges.
The lawsuit seeks to represent any Holiday Inn Select- Dallas North guest that stayed at the hotel in November 2005.
