By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A billionaire US property developer is suing Atlantis, its owner and American Express over “an improper windfall” totalling $100,000 after he was forced to leave his yacht in the resort’s marina due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

Russian-born Igor Olenicoff, and his Olen Properties company, initiated legal action against the Paradise Island mega resort and its Brookfield Hospitality Properties owner earlier this month over what they alleged are “unauthorised” credit card charges.

They claim that this sum relates to “room charges” that were never incurred because no one was staying at Atlantis, and the MY Rusalka had been forced into an “involuntary” stay with no marina services provided, when The Bahamas locked down in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is a civil action primarily seeking from defendants American Express, Island Hotel Company [the Atlantis operator] and Brookfield restitution and disgorgement of profits gained as a result of charging Olen for services neither authorised or nor rendered,” the lawsuit, filed in the central California federal court, is alleging.

“Plaintiffs are the owners of a corporate yacht, MY Rusalka. On or about March 14, 2020, Olen chief executive, Igor Olenicoff arrived at the Atlantis resort and marina with a reservation to dock the corporate yacht, MY Rusalka, and enjoy the resort for a period of three months. Unfortunately, almost immediately upon arrival, plaintiffs learned of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and were told to immediately evacuate from The Bahamas.

“The entire Atlantis resort and marina were shut down and guests were taken to the airport to leave out of Nassau, as the Port authorities were also shut down. There was no other option than to leave MY Rusalka tied at the Atlantis marina without any services offered by defendants until a time the marina and Nassau Port control [the Port Department] reopened, travel from the US was allowed and the crew permitted to return.”

Mr Olenicoff and his company alleged that the emergency shutdown meant no one was able to discuss mooring charges and other marina-related fees with them, and no talks took place. “Moreover, no one was available for plaintiffs to discuss the emergency protocol, and as a result plaintiffs did not authorise the Atlantis marina to charge the American Express, and neither plaintiffs nor any authorised representative signed any mooring contract with the Atlantis marina or authorise anyone to sign a mooring or other contract with the Atlantis marina,” they alleged.

However, such a document is in Atlantis’ possession and bears the signature of William Steely. However, Mr Olenicoff and Olen Properties are alleging that he was a deckhand with no authority to enter them into a binding contractual agreement with the Paradise Island mega resort.

“Neither the decision to abandon the vessel at the Atlantis marina nor the length of time it remained there were in plaintiffs’ control, as the vessel was restricted by the Port authority (department),” they claimed.

“Additionally, due to the emergency situation, no terms were negotiated. The vessel was legally not authorised to leave the marina and, as such, one crew member remained aboard to secure and care for MY Rusalka during plaintiffs’ absence. On or about July 17, 2020, plaintiffs were permitted to return to The Bahamas and remove the vessel from the Atlantis marina.

“Despite the unprecedented circumstances of the sudden evacuation and COVID-19 pandemic situation, defendants charged plaintiffs’ Express card with the regular daily ‘room charge’ during the entire time its vessel was involuntarily abandoned at the Atlantis marina due to port restrictions. The full rate was charged daily despite the fact that neither plaintiffs nor any related parties received any of the value of those charges in return,” Mr Olenicoff and Olen complained.

“The ‘room charge’ assessed by defendants was clearly a misnomer, as there was no one occupying the hotel at any time, and neither the Atlantis marina nor the resort were staffed and open to provide any services. As such, plaintiffs did not receive any of the usual benefits or services from Atlantis marina that would normally be included in exchange for the charges. The substantial, non-authorised charges totaling approximately $100,000 to plaintiffs’ American Express are unwarranted and amount to an improper windfall to the Atlantis defendants.

Mr Olenicoff and his company alleged that their efforts to resolve the dispute without resorting to litigation had proven fruitless because Atlantis and American Express had insisted on payment.

Atlantis has not responded to requests for comment, but the form signed by Mr Steely stipulates that The Bahamas - and not the central California district court - is to be the jurisdiction and venue for hearing legal disputes.

Mr Olenicoff has prior unhappy memories of The Bahamas. He had to pay $52m in back taxes after pleading guilty in 2007 to tax evasion, having kept secret bank accounts in The Bahamas and elsewhere that had never been disclosed to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS).