Attorneys are fighting for every possible advantage in the overtime lawsuits against Las Vegas Sands Corp. and CEO Sheldon Adelson, with a new skirmish under way over where Adelson's deposition will be taken.
Nine executive security officers and a personal driver for Adelson and his family filed suit in June charging they were owed overtime pay – charges later denied by the company.
The cases went on to generate headlines when a judge first blocked efforts by the casino giant Las Vegas Sands to reassign five of the elite security agents to mundane uniformed security guard work at the Sands Expo Center; then rejected efforts to shroud the proceedings in secrecy because of concerns about the safety of Adelson and his family.
In the latest dustup involving former Adelson driver Kwame Luangisa's lawsuit, attorneys for Adelson filed court papers Monday asking the court to require that the billionaire's deposition next month be taken at one of two secure locations: Adelson's Las Vegas office or the federal courthouse in downtown Las Vegas.
Attorneys for Adelson said in the emergency motion that Luangisa's attorneys with the firm Campbell & Williams are insisting on conducting the deposition at their office on Seventh Street in Las Vegas – a location unacceptable to Adelson's attorneys.
"Security concerns are a very serious issue as they relate to Mr. Adelson,'' said the filing by attorneys with the Las Vegas office of the law firm Littler Mendelson, who described the Campbell & Williams office as essentially a home with "numerous entrances, numerous windows and no security.''
The attorneys said they also appealed to Campbell & Williams that "it would be easier on Mr. Adelson to have the deposition taken at his own office, since he is nearly 80 years old and utilizes a scooter to get around.''
They said Donald Campbell, one of Luangisa's attorneys, responded that the request for a change of location for the deposition was unwarranted and that "he had previously deposed Mr. Adelson at his office and that it was a 'total zoo' with various interruptions, including an armed personal security guard who allegedly intimidated Mr. Campbell.''
A Las Vegas Sands spokesman said later Monday that during the previous deposition, "Mr. Campbell lost his temper during the deposition and attempted to throw books at Mr. Adelson. At that time, security was asked to monitor the remainder of the deposition."
A request for comment was placed with Campbell.
Campbell's office hasn't yet responded to Monday's filing.