Cayuga’s Litigation Support Services Group offers consulting and expert witness services to clients and their counsel in all areas of the hospitality industry. As experienced consultants, and current and former owners and operators of hotels, resorts, foodservice operations, casinos, clubs, golf courses, convention centers, health clubs and spas, Cayuga Members offer many years of hands-on experience in the areas of market research, feasibility, development, franchising, management, operations, human resources, contract negotiation, accounting, marketing, valuations, brokerage and more.
Our Members’ research capabilities and knowledge of industry standards and trends make them uniquely qualified to provide litigation support to all types of hospitality industry clients. Cayuga Members offer years of experience as expert witnesses in a wide variety of cases, including: ownership/management disputes; franchisor/franchisee disputes; brand defense disputes; disputes involving market feasibility studies, economic impact analyses, appraisals; valuations; security issues resulting in theft, personal injury and/or wrongful death; contract interpretation and negotiation disputes; eminent domain takings, bankruptcy and/or foreclosure issues; real estate tax appeals and zoning issues; and more.
Cayuga’s Litigation Support Services
- Pre-trial research and investigatory analysis
- Expert witness analysis
- Evaluation of opponent position
- Damages assessment
- Lost profit estimations
- Financial analysis
- Operational analysis
- Expert witness testimony
Advisory Members
The following members are available through Cayuga to provide a full range of consulting services.
Chris LeSourd (Seattle)
President, LeSourd
Associates, Inc., offering 35 years experience as a manager and executive
in foodservice and restaurants, chains and independents. Consulting services
include feasibility and financial evaluations, market and operational analyses,
valuations, concept and project development or strategic repositioning, litigation
support and expert witness testimony. Cayuga’s Litigation Support Group Leader.
John
Bowen (Houston)
Dean, Conrad N. Hilton College, University of Houston. Co-author of Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism, the best selling text on hospitality marketing, published in eight languages. John specializes in customer loyalty and customer satisfaction using both customer surveys and in-depth interviews to show organizations how they can increase customer satisfaction, loyalty and profits. He’s an expert on the marketing of gaming operations and has facilitated training seminars on gaming marketing, as well as conducted research for casinos and gaming machine manufacturers. John has served as an expert witness on matters relating to hospitality and gaming marketing. He has a Ph.D. in marketing from Texas A&M University and 35 years of experience in the hospitality industry.
Scott Brush (Miami)
President, Brush & Company, providing a variety of services to all facets of the hospitality industry, with a focus on hotel and resort operations. With more than 35 years experience, both in operations and consultancy, Mr. Brush has the education and recognized expertise to provide high-quality, principal-involved consulting services, including hotel market surveys, operational diagnostics, comprehensive property reviews, litigation support, independent impact surveys, and asset management. Litigation support services range from pretrial investigatory work to microeconomic studies to expert witness analysis and testimony as needed.
Bill Callnin (Virginia Beach)
Cayuga Chairman and Managing Director, specializing in development and operations analyses of casinos; Group Leader, Casino Gaming Group (a division of Cayuga), an international, full-service gaming consultancy. Casino design, operating procedures and internal controls, operations analyses, management-performance reviews, regulatory compliance audits, casino lease / management contract negotiations, asset management and litigation suppor
Bill Carroll (Ithaca, NY)
A Ph.D. economist, author and recognized expert in the areas of travel technology in marketing distribution and decision taking. Dr. Carroll is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Hotel Administration, teaching courses in economics, yield management, pricings and marketing distribution. He is also CEO of Marketing Economics, a consulting firm specializing in travel industry pricing, distribution, yield management and strategic planning. Over 25 years experience in senior positions in the travel industry. He was the Division Vice President for Global Marketing Planning at Hertz, responsible for global pricing, yield management, marketing information systems, and counter sales. He implemented the first decentralized yield management system in the car rental industry and a comprehensive Executive Information System (EIS) that gained national recognition. Following Hertz, Dr. Carroll served as the Global Vice President for Reed Elsevier’s Travel Group, which included responsibility for Travel Weekly, the Hotel and Travel Index, the Official Hotel Guide and the Official Meetings and Facilities Guide.
Bill Caruso (Denver)
President, William Caruso Associates, offering food facilities planning and design; master planning, operational/design space planning and programming; development and negotiation of catering contracts; and market and economic feasibility analyses. Litigation support services offered in the areas of F&B operations, design and construction.
Chuck Conine (Palm Springs)
Certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a hotel, restaurant and commercial foodservices human resources expert with 35 years of experience in hospitality employee/labor relations at Westin, Marriott and both regional and national restaurant companies. President of Hospitality HR Solutions hospitality industry-focused HR consulting network. Examples of consulting services offered: HR needs in hotel/restaurant property openings, closings and downsizing; HR policies; mergers and acquisitions HR issues; building HR strategic plans; avoiding discrimination and wage/hour lawsuits; money-saving HR, insurance and related synergy programs; manager coaching and counseling; HR services for private equity and public company owners; employee and labor relations assistance, including labor contract negotiation and administration, and maintaining union-free status; employee benefits and compensation; employee rewards programs. Chuck is available to serve as HR expert in employment litigation. He also serves the travel industry as a city-appointed commissioner at Palm Springs International Airport and as a regular feature contributor for Smith Travel Research’s daily online publication Hotel News Now. Group Leader of Cayuga’s Employee and Labor Relations Group.
Chekitan Dev (Ithaca, NY)
Associate professor of marketing and brand management at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration. An active consultant, seminar leader, keynote speaker and expert witness, Dr. Dev has worked with brands in over 35 countries on 5 continents including Disney, Rosewood, Westin, Marriott, InterContinental, Holiday Inn, Hilton, Crystal Cruise Lines, DeVere, Moevenpick, Peninsula, Jumeirah, Taj, Ritz-Carlton Bali, Four Seasons Mumbai, and Posadas. Dr. Dev has presented at events organized by several international organizations and been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, TIME, USA Today, on NBC Nightly News and National Public Radio. He has provided litigation support services in the area of market studies, marketing plans and activities, brand standards and compliance, brand rights infringement (please click on this link for more detail).
Carroll “Duke” Dubuc (Falls Church, VA)
President of Carroll Dubuc & Associates, P.C.; an attorney offering services in mediation and arbitration of disputes, facilitation for training in mediation and/or strategic planning as well as legal consultation, investigation, jury selection and expert witness testimony. Forty years of experience as a civil trial lawyer in NY, DC and VA representing airlines, aircraft manufactureres/component manufactures, insurance companies, hotel chains, banks and other lawyers. Served as Outside Counsel to three international airlines in litigation, and corporate and regulatory matters. Also served as an Outside Director and Corporate Secretary to U.S. Aviation Underwriter’s (USAIG) for several years.
Charles Ilvento (Miami)
CPA, CHA, CHAE, Real Estate Broker and member of the AH&LA’s Committee
on Financial Management; Founding Professor of Florida International University’s
School of Hotel Management; owner of a CPA practice specializing in the hospitality
industry; and third-generation hospitality industry professional. Charles is
a court-qualified expert, mediator, arbitrator and hospitality industry consultant
offering broad expertise as a CPA and/or economist either individually or as
part of an expert team.
Shelly La Motte (Frederick, MD)
With over 20 years of diverse hospitality experience, including positions with two international CPA firms, Shelly’s expertise includes: development and acquisition-related market and financial analysis; valuation; strategic planning; operations analysis; impact analysis; quality assurance evaluation; litigation support; hotel operator selection; management contract/franchise negotiations; financial analysis including market repositioning and other value enhancement strategies; acquisitions and dispositions; financing; and, asset management. Her experience includes assignments in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, the Caribbean, Bermuda and Australia, as well as throughout the U.S. She has provided expert testimony with regard to major lodging and mixed-use projects.
Tom Lattin (Houston)
CPA and Managing Director of his consultancy, Lattin & Associates and a
Professor at the Conrad N. Hilton College in Houston, teaching accounting,
finance and advanced lodging management courses. Background includes positions
with: PricewaterhouseCoopers, Patriot American Hospitality, Paine Webber, Coopers & Lybrand,
and Laventhol & Horwath. Specializing in: litigation support and expert
witness testimony dealing with hospitality industry financial issues and management
contracts; procurement of debt and equity and other investment banking services
including merger and acquisition; operational studies and reviews, management
audits and profit improvements; and, asset management services. Cayuga
Regional Director for South Central U.S.
Art Marshall (Portland, ME)
Senior Manager of Berry, Dunn, McNeil & Parker, leading the hospitality consulting division of this Public Accounting and Management Consulting Firm. His focus is upon strategic planning and business consulting including preparation of budgets, projections, marketing plans, cost control strategies, yield management enhancements, debt restructuring strategies, and long term strategic and capital planning. Art conducts business valuation engagements in all industry areas, including estate planning and merger and acquisition consulting and support. His firm has a very active litigation support group involved in valuation issues such as shareholder disputes, lost profits, economic damages and insurance disputes.
Bill Melvin (Cincinnati)
Twenty-three years service as a Magistrate for the Hamilton County Juvenile Court in Cincinnati; an Attorney licensed in Ohio and the District of Columbia. Bill’s background in food & beverage operations includes: owning and operating The Catering Kitchens, which catered events of up to 1000 people; managing multiple Magic Pan Creperie locations; and, F&B comptroller training with the Washington Hilton Hotel. He offers consulting services in operations analysis of F&B properties, including multi-property situations, as well as mystery guest ratings, quality service assurance, total quality management, litigation support and mediation.
Ralph Miller (Calgary, Alberta, and North Vancouver)
A Chartered Accountant, Chartered Business Valuator, Certified Hotel Administrator, and Certified Hospitality Accounting Executive with over 25 years of operations and consulting experience in the hospitality industry. Prior to graduating from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Accounting and Management Information Systems, and subsequently joining Coopers & Lybrand, Ralph spent nine years in the hotel and restaurant industry. After obtaining his designation as a Chartered Accountant, he went on to lead the Western Canada Hospitality Industry Practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Additionally, he has provided expert witness testimony in both the Supreme Court of British Columbia and the Court of Queens Bench in Alberta on valuation issues for businesses in the hospitality and tourism industry. In 1997 Ralph co-founded Inntegrated Hospitality Management Ltd. and since that time has been providing third party management and consulting services for clients with interests in accommodation, food and beverage, gaming and destination resort/vacation club development.
Maurice Minno (Palm Springs)
President of the MPM Consulting Group, and a subject matter expert in the food service business. Extensive 30 year background in hospitality food service consulting and senior management of the food and beverage, marketing and brand development functions of leading, large, multi-unit food service companies including Starbucks Coffee Company, BP and AMPM, Circle K, Wawa Inc., and Marriott Corporation. Litigation support services/expert witness testimony in areas specifically dealing with branding, supply chain, marketing and category management.
Stacy Moore (Portsmouth, NH)
President of Stacy Moore & Associates, a consulting firm offering business planning, project management, operations analysis, market research services and strategic counsel to food and foodservice related companies. Twenty-eight years of industry experience including seven years with The Hale Group, a leading food industry strategic planning firm. Project work includes brand development in QSR and non-traditional venues - from concept through operations development and into strategic partnerships, licensing, franchising, or other growth strategies. Stacy offers litigation support services in F&B, especially issues involving technology, food manufacturing, marketing and franchising.
Giuseppe Pezzotti (Ithaca, NY)
A Senior Lecturer at the Cornell Hotel School since 1984, teaching courses in foodservice management, etiquette and protocol. Regularly conducts executive education seminars around the world. After being awarded first prize at the Italian Hotel School, held foodservice positions on luxury liners of the Italian Line and the Swedish American Line, and at hotels and restaurants in Europe and the US. Consulting services include providing litigation support and expert witness testimony to the foodservice industries.
Albert Pucciarelli, Esq. (Ridgewood, NJ)
A partner with McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP with a national and international law practice. Recognized for his expertise in hotel and resort development and operations, his practice is concentrated in these areas, as well as in aviation law, general corporate law and real estate law. Between '88 and '98 he served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Inter-Continental Hotels, with over 200 hotels in 70 countries. Mr. Pucciarelli served as Chair of the Hotels, Restaurants and Tourism Committee and as Chair of the Aeronautics Law Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He is a Director and President-elect of the Hospitality Industry Bar Association. He taught International Business Law as an adjunct professor at the Fordham University Graduate School of Business and was a member of that school’s Advisory Board. He is a Director of Skytop Lodge in Skytop, PA. Mr. Pucciarelli offers services in hotel & resort development; legal aspects of hotel operations; litigation support, expert witness testimony and alternate dispute resolution. His clients include the owners and developers of Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Fairmont, Mandarin-Oriental, Hyatt, Andaz, St. Regis, Westin, and more. He is fluent in Russian and a commercial pilot.
Thomas Riegelman (Nashville)
Offering an extraordinary range of expertise in asset and facility management, with over 30 years managing corporate level hotel and resort operations. His 19 years with Hyatt Hotels Corporation as VP of Technical Services, and then VP of Engineering provided him with broad experience in all phases of hotel and resort planning, construction, engineering, and facility operations. Tom also served as a General Manager with the Prudential Realty Group, asset managing their $900 million Northeast hotel portfolio. After graduating from the Cornell Hotel School with a concentration in hotel planning and design, he earned an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago.
Michael Sansbury (Orlando)
Cayuga’s Development Consulting Group Leader, offering extraordinary experience with development, operations and strategic planning for upscale resorts, resort casinos and high-end hotels, including executive positions with Baha Mar Resorts, Loews Hotels, Mirage Resorts and Westin Hotels & Resorts. Also an expert in: capital investment planning; government affairs and community relations; casino management and operations; and, event planning and operations. Litigation support/expert witness testimony experience in the areas of operational liability and development issues.
Theo Seale (Bethesda, MD)
President, THEO Consultants,
LLC: assists financial institutions, investors, owners, operators, attorneys and accountants in the evaluation of hospitality real estate assets. THEO offers consulting services to corporate, REIT and individual owners and operators of hotels, motels, resorts, inns, bed and breakfasts, country and city clubs, restaurants and health clubs. Services include market and economic research, appraisals and valuations, litigation support/expert witness testimony, financial analyses and property asset management.
Steve
Sherf (Minneapolis)
With over 30 years of operational and consulting experience, Steve is President of the Hospitality Consulting Group, providing analysis, valuation and brokerage services to the hospitality industry. He has prepared market studies and financial projections for all types of hotels in both large and small markets throughout the U.S. He has also worked on more than 150 gaming projects located in 27 states and three Canadian provinces. These projects include feasibility studies for both new and expanding casinos and racinos, market studies for casino amenities, business diversification studies, market share analysis under different competitive scenarios, and new market development potential assessments. Steve has particular expertise in lodging assessment, gaming demand modeling, financial projection modeling, and financial statement analysis. His broad background of consulting assignments for income producing real estate developments include market studies, valuations, appraisals, acquisitions and sales. A Certified Public Accountant (inactive), he has provided expert witness testimony relating to the valuation of hotels and restaurants as well as business interruption damages for casinos.
Dave Theophilus (Orlando)
President, DMT Hospitality Advisors, Inc., providing professional services for hotels, resorts, condominiums and apartments. Thirty years of experience in the hospitality field. Specializing in asset management and litigation support including expert witness testimony. Visit his web site at www.dmthosp.com.
Ralph Woodworth (Los Angeles)
CEO of Gray-Wood and Associates, a Los Angeles-based management consultancy for hotels, restaurants and clubs, offering interim management, reengineering and expert witness services. Extraordinary operations experience including: COO of Chasen’s Restaurant, a renowned Los Angeles landmark; GM of the Tucson National Resort & Spa, with full responsibility for this Four-Star golf resort; EVP of Somerset Hotels in Beverly Hills, in which he ran all operations for seven hotels in the West & Southwest, including Sante Fe and Jackson Hole; EVP of the Bel Air Sands Hotel in Los Angeles; VP of Universal Studios' Recreational Services; GM of the Santa Barbara Biltmore and Clift Hotel, both Five-Star operations; and, COO of Westin's inplant dining at Boeing Aircraft, feeding 40,000 daily.
