Publisher Sues San Diego Convention Center Corp.

A well-known publisher of materials for convention centers and convention and visitors bureaus around the United States is not taking the termination of a contract in San Diego lying down. Meanwhile, representatives of the San Diego Convention Center Corp. said they were perfectly happy to fight a lawsuit filed by Denver-based Weaver Multimedia Group.

Weaver filed the suit against the convention center this summer over proprietary materials after the convention center terminated the five-year contract in June, barely a year after it had been signed.

As of press time, no trial date had been set, but a judge issued a preliminary injunction Sept. 12 banning the convention center from using materials it received from Weaver, including artwork and some advertising pieces.

"It was interesting the contract was terminated after Weaver provided the convention center with the native art and other information," said Gregory Vega, an attorney with San Diego law firm Seltzer, Caplan, McMahon, Vitek, which is representing Weaver.

Weaver signed the contract with the convention center in April 2006 and published an annual workbook for meeting planners and several local attraction guides for attendees at meetings and conventions in San Diego. Weaver also produced advertising featured in the convention center lobby and restaurant.

Steven B. Johnson, vice president of public affairs for the convention center, said the contract was terminated because of Weaver's failure to perform.

"The work product was incredibly poor quality," he added. "We believe we have a very strong case and details for why (the contract was terminated)."

Johnson said the convention center made efforts to work with Weaver so the publisher could correct errors, but added that the convention center's documentation showed the publishing company didn't fix the problems.

Vega said e-mails sent to Weaver by convention center employees praised the job the publishing company was doing and never indicated there was a problem. The contract termination came out of nowhere as far as Weaver was concerned, he added.

Johnson said the convention center would move forward and publish its own guide and workbook. "We produce 75 to 85 percent of what was included in those materials anyway," he added. "It just means that we can't use the creative artwork that was done for the first books."

The convention center plans to publish a planner's workbook by the end of this year and a guide for attendees early in 2008.

Before Weaver and the convention center signed the contract, Weaver provided publishing services to the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau, Vega said. The publisher provides similar services in Chicago, New York, Vancouver, New Orleans, Boston and San Francisco.

"All these other cities are extremely pleased with Weaver," Vega said.

Johnson said examples of work done for other cities in the region attracted the San Diego Convention Center to the publishing company initially, but the center had to provide a lot of in-house work to Weaver, including writing and compiling materials.

Weaver's hope, Vega said, is that the lawsuit would be resolved quickly so the publishing company could resume its work in the San Diego area.

Johnson said the convention center received dozens of e-mails from advertisers praising the cancellation of the contract.

"They clearly could not deliver," Johnson said.