CARLSBAD -- The owners of the tony Four Seasons Resort Aviara are trying to oust the Four Seasons management firm, in a nasty legal struggle where the owners stand accused of seizing bank accounts and picking the locks of a manager's office.

The struggle dates to March 27, when the hotel's owner attempted to extricate itself from a contract with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Ltd., a Toronto-based company that manages Aviara and more than 80 other luxury hotels around the world. The two sides were in dispute over details of the resort's 2009 operating budget, according to officials with BRCP HEF Hotel Tenant LLC, the partnership that owns the resort.

In documents filed in San Diego federal court Monday morning, Four Seasons says that instead of waiting for an arbitration panel's directions, the partnership's representatives entered the hotel around 1 a.m. on March 29, a Sunday, picked the locks in a manager's office and posted private security guards outside.

It wasn't clear how the early morning incursion ended. Statements from both Four Seasons and BRCP indicate that Four Seasons has continued to control most aspects of the resort's operations, although Four Seasons' filing Monday also alleged that BRCP has seized control of some of the resort's bank accounts.

Four Seasons' filing Monday requests a temporary restraining order against the partners and cites a press release from the owners that a new management firm would take over the property at 1 p.m. Monday.

"We were taken completely by surprise," Four Seasons spokeswoman Elizabeth Pizzinato said Monday in an e-mail message.

Representatives of BRCP and Four Seasons said Monday afternoon that the deadline passed without incident.

Big money is at stake. The hotel has 320 rooms with prices starting at around $400 a night.

The new management company tapped by BRCP is Dolce Hotels and Resorts, which is based in New Jersey and operates 23 hotels in the northeastern United States and elsewhere in North America and western Europe.

Most are considerably smaller than Four Seasons resorts. They range from luxurious to moderately upscale. Dolce's sole property in California, the Hayes Mansion in San Jose, is offering specials in the range of $85 to $170 a night.

Four Seasons has "no intention to voluntarily relinquish its role as manager," the chain said in a press release.

Pizzinato said Four Seasons has continued to run the Aviara profitably for the owners and that the profits were more than large enough to service BRCP's debts associated with the resort until the last year. Four Seasons also says it has continued to meet the benchmarks required for keeping the contract in force.

The owners' attorney, William Brewer III of Dallas, said they expect Dolce to enhance guests' experiences.

"We, as the owners, are looking for that to translate into increased occupancy, patronage, which, under Four Seasons, has been miserable, frankly," Brewer said.

The management contract allows a party to withdraw unilaterally only after approval by a arbitration panel, according to Four Seasons's filing.

BRCP argues that it had to take action because the arbitration panel, which was requested six weeks ago, hasn't acted expeditiously. The company said in a statement Friday that its arbitration claim seeks to regain "tens of millions of dollars" in losses caused by Four Seasons.

The resort chain, for its part, alleges damage to its reputation and seeks unspecified compensation from the owners. Arbitration is scheduled to begin Tuesday, according to a document that Four Seasons filed Monday.

In a legal filing Friday, BRCP accused Four Seasons of violating the management contract by refusing to share details of the resort's financial accounts. The filing cites passages from the initial management contract that appear to grant it access to accounts.

BRCP is incorporated in Delaware and is co-owned by Palo Alto-based Broadreach Capital Partners and Maritz, Wolff & Co. of St. Louis.

Contact staff writer Chris Bagley at 760-740-5444. Read his blogs at bizblogs.nctimes.com.