Authentic and Credible Litigation Hotelier

Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

Additional Information

Kenneth Free, Straightline’s Principal, can oftentimes be an excellent hospitality expert witness. Over the years he has served as an expert witness before judicial bodies in about two-thirds of the 50-states of the USA, as well as in many U.S. Federal Courts. He has also been engaged as an expert in Canada, France, Egypt, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and British West Indies. While typically appearing before civil courts of the state, he has also served in cases before bodies of arbitration, U.S. Federal Administrative courts, U.S. Bankruptcy courts, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (a World Bank entity), and a Native American Tribal Court. Mr. Free can be a solid expert witness for hotel disputes because of his deep real world experience working in the hotel industry, his academic credentials, and his demeanor of credibility. Mr. Free is a true expert in hotels, resorts and related hospitality businesses. Prior to establishing his own firm he had been employed over the years by three major hotel companies in operations, finance, and real estate development roles. He does not venture beyond this industry as other self-identified “hotel experts” sometimes do when they venture into it. Some expert witnesses purport to be masters within this specialty, but are in reality generalists or perhaps are knowledgeable in other industries, such as commercial real estate or residential property management. The hotel business is fundamentally different from other forms of real estate because it mixes real estate with daily operations together with significant marketing and branding components. Some experts muddle their way through a hotel case; because of his fundamental knowledge, Mr. Free can focus like a laser on the real issues. Because of his experience, Mr. Free can clearly identify hotel and resort industry standards of care pertinent to the case at hand.