The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Photo from Facebook
People who do business with the Seminole Tribe of Florida and its billion-dollar gaming enterprise don't always believe they are being treated fairly. Rock band Candlebox said it was promised $400,000 for reunion tour and even played a show at the Hard Rock Casino and Hotel in Hollywood. But group never saw the money so its manager filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Seminole Tribe of Florida, Inc., (STOFI) the tribe's corporate entity. The case, however, was dismissed last October due to sovereign immunity. A settlement was reached in December but some fans of the band are still angry and are urging a boycott of Hard Rock International. "Lujen and Candlebox agreed as part of the settlement that they would not disparage STOFI, and they should honor their agreement," tribal spokesperson Gary Bitner told The Broward-Palm Beach New Times. Lujen Brands is the company run by the group's manager. "This lawsuit is over," Bitner added. Fanit Panofsky signed an agreement with the tribe to operate a spa at the Hollywood facility. The deal included a limited waiver of immunity but that didn't help because it was apparently never sent to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for approval. After she was locked out of her business, Panofsky filed a lawsuit in federal court. That too was dismissed due to immunity. "I was going to put an orange suit on me and have somebody looking like an Indian with a big machete trying to cut my head off. And I want to put it viral. I tell you, it will get attention," Panofsky told the New Times. Get the Story:
Rock Band Candlebox Says the Seminole Tribe Reneged on a Business Deal and Got a Free Pass (The Broward-Palm Beach New Times 4/14)
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