To secure the Vegas title insurance in 2007, Soffer pledged the three companies named in the suit as a first line of defense against potential contractor liens.

The companies own or control other Soffer entities that ultimately own key parts of the family's condo and resort empire, including the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, Turnberry condo towers in the Vegas MGM complex, and the Ocean Colony condo complex in Sunny Isles Beach.

The family's crown commercial jewel, the Aventura Mall, is owned by a separate corporate network run by Jeffrey's sister, Jackie Soffer. Both took over the family's main company, Aventura's Turnberry Associates, from father Donald Soffer, who created Aventura in the 1970s.

REQUEST REFUSED

Fidelity said it asked the three defendant companies to fight the Vegas contractor claims and post bonds needed to clear them, but that the Soffer companies refused.

In 2005, Jeffrey Soffer engineered the $312 million purchase of the Fontainebleau Miami Beach and announced plans to build the 3,800-room Fontainebleau Vegas.

Construction overruns, a failed effort to sell condo-hotel units in Vegas and last year's economic meltdown swamped the Vegas project. In April, banks cut off construction funding and a bankruptcy judge is trying to sell the unfinished tower for a fraction of the $2 billion pumped into the project since 2007.

ISOLATED

After the Fontainebleau Vegas filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Soffer said the financial problems were isolated and would not affect his family's vast wealth or real estate portfolio.

But he has acknowledged personal exposure: Soffer guaranteed at least a portion of $200 million in Vegas debt, and a Turnberry entity issued a $100 million construction guaranty on the project.

In a September court hearing, Baena, a partner at Bilzin Sumberg in Miami, said Soffer likely would lose $500 million in the Vegas venture.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@