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[RJ Trotts]

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A rejected suitor for the Hard Rock chain of cafes, casinos and related businesses claims in a lawsuit that the Seminole Tribe of Florida was the successful buyer because of improper collusion and bid-rigging.

The Baltimore-based development firm The Cordish Co. and an affiliate, Power Plant Entertainment LLC, contend that Hard Rock Cafe International Inc. management secretly negotiated with the Seminoles for seven months before plans to sell were announced in July.

Power Plant, a partnership between Cordish and Coastal Development LLC, was the original developer of the Seminole Hard Rock casinos and hotels in Hollywood and Tampa.

The Seminoles announced the $965 million purchase of the Hard Rock empire from London-based Rank Group PLC on Dec. 7, marking the first time an American Indian tribe had purchased a major international corporation.

The Cordish lawsuit, however, said the company and its banker, Goldman Sachs & Co., were refused the right to bid for the business even though they could have made a larger offer. The lawsuit was filed late Friday in Broward County Circuit Court.