In January 2009, MGM announced cancellation of the condominium component due to the costly structural defects, as well as the poor state of the local condo market.

MGM filed a counterclaim, and the company's demolition plans were delayed as Perini considered the structure to be evidence of defective design, which would exonerate the general contractor.

[10] In Clark County, Nevada, where the Harmon was built, developers are responsible for hiring third-party building inspectors to monitor construction projects.

[10] In July 2008, a Halcrow Yolles employee discovered structural flaws in the hotel's steel rebar,[10][12] which was found to have been placed in different locations than previously planned, affecting 15 of the 22 existing floors.

[16] In January 2009, MGM announced that it had canceled the condominium aspect of the project due to the structural defects, which would require further costly repair work to accommodate additional floors.

[21][22] Ron Lynn, chief of the Clark County Building Division,[16] blamed the structural errors on an apparent breakdown in the inspection process.

[15] In early 2009, Perini disputed a county claim that its construction work led to the structural errors, blaming the issue on design problems.

[24] Clark County filed complaints against Perini and Pacific Coast Steel;[25] the latter reached a settlement in April 2009 and agreed to pay $14,105 in administrative fees to the Nevada Contractors Board, without admitting fault in the case.

Converse blamed a communication breakdown for the errors, but could not pinpoint when it occurred, noting the various parties involved in the project, including MGM, Perini, Pacific Coast Steel, and Halcrow Yolles.

[12][27] Thomas concluded that there was sufficient evidence showing that Converse's two inspectors on the project had falsified 62 daily reports, from March to July 2008, assuring that proper rebar installation was observed.

[30] In March 2010, MGM called the Harmon a "total loss" and removed Perini, bringing an end to construction and postponing completion indefinitely.

[32] Later that month, Perini filed a lawsuit and mechanic's lien against MGM and Dubai World, seeking to collect $492 million in unpaid CityCenter construction bills, relating primarily to the Harmon.

"[3] In July 2010, Clark County District Court judge Elizabeth Gonzalez ordered that Perini be allowed back on-site to conduct an inspection for its lawsuit.

[42][43][44] Because the Harmon was deemed a safety hazard, the county gave MGM and Dubai World five weeks to devise a strategy for either repairing or demolishing the structure.

[41][45] The company also criticized the county for supporting demolition of the Harmon, stating that this would allow MGM to "evade its responsibilities relating to the design defects".

[46] A hearing began in March 2012, to determine whether Perini was owed money for its time spent on the project or if MGM should be compensated for the construction defects.

[60][61][62] MGM added new lawyers to its team and, in February 2013, named Halcrow Yolles as a new defendant, stating that the latter missed and failed to report the faulty rebar installation.

Gonzalez rescinded her demolition approval several months later, after FM Global, which wrote the Harmon's construction insurance policy, requested more time to review the $393 million claim.

[74] Plans to demolish the Harmon by implosion were scrapped due to its proximity to other structures, including CityCenter's shopping mall, Crystals.

Christopher Hawthorne of the Los Angeles Times felt that it stood alone among CityCenter's buildings "in its willingness to look un-pretty", its blue-and-white façade suggesting "a cross between a disco ball and a 1970s mirrored-glass office tower by Kevin Roche or John Portman".

[82] According to James S. Russell, writing for Bloomberg News, "The design of the oblong Harmon Hotel, 28 floors in nervous patches of blue reflective glass, has been phoned-in" by Foster.

[83] Paul Goldberger of The New Yorker wrote that Foster "seems not to have known how to deal with the Las Vegas environment, and was content to cover a formally uninteresting, modem-shaped building with several shades of reflective glass, a gesture that aims for flamboyance but comes off seeming a little halfhearted".

[84] Regarding the hotel's reduced height, Joe Brown of the Las Vegas Sun wrote that "the incredible shrinking Harmon seems unfortunately fated to look like a stubby, squashed stepchild next to its soaring CityCenter siblings".