The defendant's legal team will file a motion to set aside theaward and then appeal if the first tact fails, David Noteware ofThompson & Knight in Dallas, tells GlobeSt.com about a highlywatched contest between Accor and Murat Holdings LLC of Boca Raton,FL over a now-razed hotel that was once the place to stay in BatonRouge, LA. The 68th Judicial District Court in Dallas County willweigh the motion's merits within 30 days when it convenes to setthe final award.

The plaintiff claims the 262-room Prince Murat Hotel would havebeen a success at 1480 Nicholson Dr., had the Red Roof Innfranchise materialized under the $45,000 buy-in inked in December1998 and $1.6-million renovation. John W. Bickel II, partner inBickel & Brewer of Dallas, says Columbus, OH-based Red RoofInns and parent Accor Economy Lodging withheld final approval onthe flag because they had four competing hotels in the same market:one Red Roof Inn and three Motel 6 properties.

Bickel says Red Roof Inn's franchise operations director clearedthe flag to rise and then recanted the approval in the wake of theAugust 1999 buyout by Accor. As a result, Bickel contends in thelawsuit that "the hotel conglomerate allegedly imposed strictguidelines upon the Prince Murat Hotel, causing the business entityto forgo millions of dollars in operating profits due to a delayedopening."