Monty Bennett Sued for Misuse of his Media Outlet

Monty Bennett and some board members for his company, Ashford Hospitality Trust, have been hit with a lawsuit, alleging misconduct in a proxy fight involving Bennett’s hotel operation.

The plaintiff, an out-of-state investor named Jason Aintabi, contends that Bennett unlawfully used his nonprofit media outlet, the Dallas Express, to influence shareholders, D Magazine reported.

The lawsuit claims that Bennett failed to disclose to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the public that the Dallas Express, which he finances and publishes, played a role in the proxy campaign. The media outlet allegedly ran a series of articles targeting Aintabi and his company, Blackwells, with false and misleading claims, at Bennett’s direction.

The lawsuit alleges that the Dallas Express, despite claiming to be unbiased, operates as a “mouthpiece” for Bennett’s interests. Financial details presented in the lawsuit suggest that Bennett has been subsidizing the unprofitable media outlet, raising questions about its independence and integrity.

The filing reveals that Bennett has made substantial “donations” totaling over $3.4 million to the Dallas Express, a figure starkly contrasting with its meager advertising revenues of approximately $24,000 in 2022, against expenses of about $3 million.

Notably, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson hired a writer from the Dallas Express as a communications and policy coordinator following favorable coverage from the outlet.

Bennett, meanwhile, has been grappling with a plateful of financial and legal troubles since last year. Dallas-based Ashford, which owns 100 hotels nationwide, revealed last summer that it had missed loan payments on 19 hotels, totaling nearly $150 million, with plans to give them back to lenders. The firm has since been on a selling spree to chip away at its mountain of debt.

In November, lenders for seven of Ashford’s distressed hotels sued the firm, requesting a court-appointed receiver to recover the hotels that back them, including two in Dallas-Fort Worth.

—Quinn Donoghue