Starwood Hotels & Resorts on Thursday filed an amended version of its complaint of corporate espionage against Hilton Worldwide, claiming that the use of its confidential information "was known to literally dozens of executives within the Hilton organization," including at least five members of Hilton's executive committee, all the way up to CEO Christopher Nassetta.
Starwood last year filed suit against Hilton, alleging that two former Starwood executives stole more than 100,000 electronic files from Starwood to expedite Hilton's launch of a luxury lifestyle brand. Following that, Hilton suspended the two executives and the development of its Denizen hotel brand, and the two companies appeared to be considering a settlement late last year.
The amended filing alleges that Nassetta received a letter from a Hilton executive whistleblower five months prior to Starwood's lawsuit, alerting him to the use of the proprietary documents. It claims that Hilton executives used the information not only in the development of the Denizen brand but also to reposition other brands.
"At this point, all of Hilton's luxury and lifestyle brands, including, without limitation, Hilton's Waldorf Astoria Collection, Hilton's Prestige Portfolio, Hilton's Conrad Hotels and Hilton's Denizen Hotels, are infected by Hilton's theft and wrongful use of Starwood confidential information," according to the lawsuit.
Hilton did not comment on the new filing.
—Nielsen Business Media