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PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - The owner of the Trump hotel in Panama City has filed a suit against four members of staff for “usurpation,” accusing them of refusing him entry to the building, his lawyer said late on Friday.

Orestes Fintiklis, managing partner of Ithaca Capital Partners, which now owns the hotel and the majority of the condo units at the Trump International Hotel & Tower, filed the suit on the grounds he had been denied access when attempting to enter the building on Feb. 22 to dismiss the four staff, said his lawyer Sarai Blaisdell.

“We filed a complaint for usurpation by (the) employees,” Blaisdell said outside the court where the suit was filed.

It was not clear why the four staff members had denied Fintiklis access, but Blaisdell told reporters they had said they were acting upon orders from “superiors.”

The four staff belonged to the previous administration of the hotel, Blaisdell said.

The hotel was sold last year, and in November it was reported that Ithaca wanted to take the Trump name from the building, but that has yet to happen.