MINDEN, Nev. (AP) - Opening arguments were aired Wednesday in a trial of a long-standing dispute between Horizon hotel-casino operators and Park Cattle Co., which owns the land under the club on Lake Tahoe's south shore and wants to evict the operators.

The Douglas County District Court proceedings are scheduled for several weeks. The litigation dates to late 2005, when Park Cattle claimed a breach of a land lease agreement and the operator, a Columbia-Sussex Corp. affiliate, alleged a harassment campaign by Park.

Lawyers for the operators contend that Park Cattle, a Nevada real estate company with extensive land holdings at Tahoe and in the nearby Carson Valley, wants to take over the casino and that there are no safety issues amounting to a breach of the lease.

Park Cattle Co. officials claimed in 2005 that the operators were advised of various problems but only agreed to make repairs so that legal troubles wouldn't hold up their purchase that year of Caesars Tahoe, now the MontBleu, across the street. Park also owns the land under that property.

Maintenance issues alleged by Park at the Horizon included mold growth, biological contamination in the heating ventilation and air conditioning, asbestos-containing construction materials, stagnant water in the stage lift pit of a former showroom, and unregistered underground storage tanks.

Columbia-Sussex bought the building and signed a land lease with Park Cattle in 1990, and subsequently built a garage. The 90-year lease, which dates to the early 1960s when the Horizon opened as the Sahara Tahoe, states that at the end of the contract the building reverts to Park Cattle. Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.