TAMPA - Real estate mogul Donald Trump is suing the developer struggling to build the 52-story, riverfront Trump Tower Tampa condominiums, saying he's owed money for the rights to use his name on the project.

Trump licensed the use of his name to Tampa-based SimDag LLC for $2.8 million and a 50 percent cut of profit from the sale of luxury condominium units planned for the project, the lawsuit states. Trump filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Tampa late Friday, alleging SimDag has breached its contract and is in default on monthly payments of $129,091.

SimDag has not made payments since October and owes Trump at least $1 million, the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit is the latest setback for the project, which has been beset with financing and construction difficulties. The developers have yet to break ground on the building.

This month, Trump sent SimDag a letter seeking to terminate the licensing agreement and telling the developer to 'immediately discontinue any and all uses of the New Trump Mark and make no further use of the name whatsoever.'

SimDag has not met terms of the licensing agreement, which called for construction on the building to start by April 27, 2006, and for SimDag to sell 70 percent of the condominium units by April 27, according to the lawsuit.

The suit first was reported by The Tampa Tribune on TBO.com Tuesday.

SimDag executives and the company's spokesman, David Hooks, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. The company's office phone is disconnected. Trump declined to answer questions but said through his assistant, Rhona Graff, that 'the lawsuit speaks for itself.'

Trump Tower was announced with much fanfare in early 2005. But the luxury high-rise project has struggled to go vertical. Construction activity stalled in November. On Tuesday, there was no equipment on the vacant site.

SimDag boasted it had sold out of condo units shortly after announcing the tower project, but the company has acknowledged that some buyers have dropped out. SimDag has passed along at least $40 million in construction increases to buyers who had signed up to purchase units.

Meanwhile, SimDag has been unable to raise millions in financing. In addition, the company had to halt construction in the fall when it found unstable ground. The property, at 111 S. Ashley Drive, now has $3.3 million in construction liens filed against it.

In recent months, two buyers have sued the developer for their deposits. In the lawsuit, filed in January, buyers Louis Ricci and Joe Shultz, both of Walton County, near Pensacola, argue it is impossible for SimDag to build the tower by the December 2008 deadline stated in their contracts. They also complained that they bought, in part, because they thought Trump was involved in the building of the tower and felt misled when they learned SimDag had only licensed the use of Trump's name.

Another buyer, George Galiouridis, was among the first buyers to put up a 20 percent deposit. In January, 2005, he reserved a 2,900 square-foot, three-bedroom condo on the 31{+s}{+t} floor for $1.1 million. A few months later, he says, SimDag said he would have to pay $200,000 more to convert the sales agreement to a hard-purchase contract, locking in the sale price.

Galiouridis, who also is buying a unit in a Trump project in South Florida, said he's frustrated that there has been no activity at the Tampa site.

When he learned about Trump's lawsuit, Galiouridis said he wants Trump to take over the project and build the tower himself or push SimDag to return deposits to buyers.

'This is good news,' he said. 'I believe Trump finally realizes that his name and credibility is at stake. He's said he can build it out of his pocket. I hope he does.'

SimDag has been unable to attain financing from commercial lenders and has sought help from hedge funds and other developers. It has negotiated with The Related Group, a Miami-based developer, to partner in the project. The developer is working with Trump to build three other Trump projects in South Florida.

Trump has pushed for Related to get involved with the Tampa project, but Eric Fordin, Related's project manager, said Tuesday that the company slowed down on plans after buyers filed lawsuits against SimDag.

Said Fordin, 'We're still interested in the Tampa market, and we would entertain potentially bringing Donald in, but the stars have to line up for both parties.'

Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804 or sbehnken@tampatrib.com.