Nephew of Hyatt hotel chain founders Matthew Pritzker is sued by woman for $25MILLION over alleged 2009 sexual assault in NYC while she was ‘incapacitated’
Matthew Pritzker, whose uncles founded the global Hyatt hotel chain, has been accused of sexual assault by a woman who is suing the 41-year-old Chicago entrepreneur for $25 million.
The lawsuit was filed in New York on Thanksgiving under the state’s Adult Survivors Act, with Thursday being the deadline to bring such claims to trial.
The plaintiff alleges that investor and philanthropist Pritzker “performed sexual acts without her consent… while she was incapacitated and unable to consent.”
Court documents obtained by DailyMail.com show that the alleged “sexual crimes” occurred “on or about May 31, 2009” in the Upper Manhattan borough of the Big Apple.
“The relief sought is: an amount to be determined at trial, but in no event less than Twenty-five Million Dollars ($25,000,000.00) in compensatory and punitive damages, together with attorneys’ fees and costs, and any applicable interest,” reads the summons.
Matthew Pritzker has been accused of sexual assault by a woman who is suing the 41-year-old Chicago entrepreneur for $25 million
His uncles founded the global Hyatt hotel chain. Pictured: the first Hyatt Regency property in Atlanta
Court documents obtained by DailyMail.com show that the alleged “sexual crimes” occurred “on or about May 31, 2009” in the Upper Manhattan borough of the Big Apple.
The alleged victim’s legal team, Raju Sundaran and Justin T. Kelton, orders Pritzker in the subpoena to respond within 30 days or risk being hit with a default judgment.
Such rulings mean that the court automatically sides with the person who filed the lawsuit if the suspect does not answer or refuses to appear before the judges.
No further details are given in the court documents, but DailyMail.com has reached out to her lawyers and Matthew Pritzker for comment.
The Adult Survivors Act was signed into law by Governor Lauren Hochul last May.
The legislation has been used to indict New York City Mayor Eric Adams, as well as celebrities including rap music mogul Sean Combs, actor Jamie Foxx and ex-President Donald Trump.
Matthew Pritzker has largely avoided the spotlight since 2005 when he sued his billionaire businessman father Robert, whose brothers Donald and Jay founded the Hyatt chain.
He and his sister Liesel, a former child actress who appeared in the 1997 Harrison Ford blockbuster Air Force One, accused him of looting $1 billion from their trust funds when he divorced their mother Irene in the 1990s.
The plaintiff alleges that investor and philanthropist Pritzker “performed sexual acts without her consent… while she was incapacitated and unable to consent.”
“The relief sought is: an amount to be determined at trial, but in no event less than Twenty-five Million Dollars ($25,000,000.00) in compensatory and punitive damages, together with attorneys’ fees and costs, and any applicable interest,” reads the summons.
The two Pritzker siblings ultimately agreed to drop the case in exchange for a $900 million settlement.
Matthew also had a brief run-in with the law in 2009 when a Chicago cyclist accused him of deliberately knocking him off his bike while riding in his SUV, but the case was dismissed.
His investment portfolio is largely focused on real estate, but he was also a major backer of the now-defunct Chicago-based food company Homemade Pizza Co, which closed in 2014.
The extended Pritzker family is one of the wealthiest in the United States, with a combined fortune of $36.9 billion. Eleven members of the family are billionaires.
Matthew’s cousins, Tony, 62, Penny, 64, and JB Pritzker, 58, have an estimated combined fortune of $10 billion as the main heirs to the global Hyatt hotel chain.
JB Pritzker was elected Democratic governor of Illinois in 2019, while Penny Pritzker served as Secretary of Commerce under President Barack Obama from 2013 to 2017.
Another cousin Tom Pritzker, the son of co-founder Jay Pritzker, is currently executive chairman of the Hyatt Hotels and Resorts Corporation.
In 2019, Tom, 72, was named in documents as one of several prominent men with whom Virginia Roberts was ordered to have sex by the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Tom tried unsuccessfully to prevent the publication of court documents and has denied the allegations.
Matthew Pritzker has largely avoided the spotlight since 2005 when he sued his billionaire businessman father Robert (pictured), whose brothers Donald and Jay founded the Hyatt chain.
Earlier this year, Tony and Jeanne’s son Nick Pritzker, 29, a marijuana entrepreneur, bought a circular home for $12.5 million, which has been featured in films such as Lethal Weapon 2 and Fast and the Furious.
The descendants of the Pritzker Empire are all descended from Abram Nicholas Pritzker, 1896-1986, a lawyer and real estate investor, father of Jay Pritzker, Robert and Donald Pritzker.
Jay and Donald Pritzker co-founded the Hyatt Hotels Corporation, which grew into one of the largest hotel and resort chains in the world.
The Hyatt Hotel chain includes hotels operating under the Hyatt brand, such as Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency and Hyatt Place.
They also run high-end brands such as Miraval, Andaz, Thompson Hotels and Dream Hotels that target the wellness, luxury, boutique and art and design interested clientele.