Flashback 1993: Trump Sues Pritzker As a Feud Goes Public

The New York Times reports:

A back-room feud between two giants of the American real estate world broke into the open yesterday when Donald J. Trump, the New York developer, filed a civil racketeering suit against Jay Pritzker, the Chicago financier, over the Pritzker family's management of the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.

The Pritzkers and Mr. Trump are equal partners in the Grand Hyatt, whose renovation in 1979 was the curtain-raiser for Mr. Trump's flamboyant career. The Hyatt Corporation, owned by the Pritzkers, manages the hotel under a contract that bars Hyatt from operating any other convention hotel in New York.

The lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, charges that Hyatt used questionable accounting and unauthorized payments to enrich the Pritzkers at Mr. Trump's expense. One goal of these improper practices, the lawsuit charges, was to force Mr. Trump out of the partnership and thus free Hyatt to operate other New York hotels. Mr. Trump is demanding $500 million in damages and the ouster of Hyatt from its management contract. Pritzker Defends Role

Jay Pritzker yesterday defended his family's role in the Grand Hyatt partnership. "We have a lot of satisfied partners," Mr. Pritzker said. "If you want to see what kind of partner Mr. Trump is, read his book," he added, referring to "The Art of the Deal," in which Mr. Trump boasted of getting the best of any transaction.

A blast from the past.