Is it a lawsuit or a script?

The developers of a high-end resort complex on the Vegas strip have been accused of keeping $100 million in escrow deposits for condo units that are being turned into hotel rooms. The lawsuit, filed by three Socal residents, says that the project was deliberately delayed as plans were scrapped to include 2,000 condos in the complex. The developer says it's not true. All right, fine. But what stood out was the wording of the lawsuit, which is being handled by an L.A. firm. Consider the opening line:

This is a rare case in which multinational bankers and real estate developers have been caught red-handed, capitalizing on the recession to steal nearly $100 million in escrow deposits.

Talk about your rhetorical flourishes. The suit claims that Deutsche Bank and Nevada Property "hatched a secret plan" in which the condo component of the project would be scrapped. "Once that decision was made," the suit claims, "greed got the better of them. Defendants decided to conceal their true intent and maliciously strong-arm the buyers into forefeting $100 million."

Whoever wrote the brief obviously enjoys going for the dramatic (wonder how a judge will react).

By late 2009, mews outlets hailed the Cosmopolitan as a "hotel/casino" and dropped any reference to condominiums. The buyers became more nervous. Soon, defendants deleted the condominiums from the Cosmopolitan's own website. The buyers became more nervous still. Defendants held fast to their lies. In fact, they pushed the lies farther, declaring privately that their own website and press releases were wrong. All of this had precisely the effect defendants desired. The buyers were thrown into a state of alarm.

Here's the AP story and here's the suit.