Oct 26, 2006 6:50 pm US/Eastern
Lawsuit May Stall Bash Refunds
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
Will thousands of ticket holders get their money back after the sudden cancellation of the Black and Gold Bash?
Michael Pawk, the attorney for Robert McConnell, the president of the Hope Cancer Treatment Foundation, plans to file suit against the Mountaineer Gaming Resort for their abrupt cancellation of the Bash.
A Butler County common pleas judge allowed the event to go forward even after questions surfaced about the organizations charitable status but ordered all funds from the fundraiser be placed in an escrow account.
Then a day before the event, Mountaineer pulled the plug because of questions about the charity's status in West Virginia.
Pawk says they will sue.
"Unfortunately the event was cancelled and Mountaineer gaming resort did that and we'll be dealing with that in a timely manner," said Pawk. "Hope Cancer Treatment Foundation had a contract, a written contract to hold the event there so it would be a breach of contract action."
Some 5000 tickets were sold for the Bash at $75.00 a piece.
Pawk says his client wants to give ticket purchasers a refund.
"We are attempting to sell all of the prizes that were previously purchased and recoup all of those monies and we hope to have a full accounting in the next few days and attempt to refund the ticket purchasers their money," said Pawk.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
