Tag Archives: Lawsuits

by | June 11, 2012 · 6:30 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Texas Hotel Still Replacing Glass Panels One-Year After Falling Glass Injured Guests In Pool; "Negligence Lawsuit" Still Pending

“…they have been traumatized by the incident and seek recovery for damages, assert negligence on the part of the hotel, and ask for reasonable compensation for their pain, disfigurement, loss of earnings, loss of earning capacity, physical impairment, medical care and expenses and mental anguish…”

Crews are currently still replacing the more than 1,000 glass panels on the hotel.

Two people who were in the swimming pool at the W Hotel on June 10 when panels of glass fell from the building, shattered and then rained down on them have  filed a lawsuit against the W and Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Susan Davis and Prashanth Magadi  filed the complaint , represented by attorney Sean Breen, in Travis District Court. The two were injured and are still removing glass from their bodies when they filed the lawsuit in late June 2011. Davis said she still doesn’t know the extent of her injuries yet but remembers clearly that day at the pool on June 10.

The plaintiffs are asking that safety measures be put in place to prevent more falling glass, along with asking that covered walkways be built at the affected parts of the building.

The lawsuit alleges that the hotel had been warned of the problem before the June 10 incident, but failed to respond. In May, a similar incident happened at a  W Hotel in Atlanta where two women fell out of the hotel when glass failed and fell out of their hotel room, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed the day after a second incident of falling glass happened at the W,  when three panels fell to the street below on June 27. No one was injured, though cars were damaged.

For more:  http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/austin/one-year-later-few-answers-at-w-hotel

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by | June 6, 2012 · 7:47 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: California Hotel Settles "Wage And Hour Lawsuit" For $2.5 Million; Over 400% Increase In Collective Actions Filed Nationally Since 2000

The case included allegations claiming that the hotel failed to pay employees for the time spent preparing for work and putting on and taking off uniforms that were required to be left at the hotel. Workers also alleged that they were required to fill out time sheets saying they took breaks whether they did or not.

The Hilton Hotel near Los Angeles International Airport has agreed to pay its workers $2.5 million to settle a  lawsuit alleging that the hotel withheld wages, did not pay overtime and failed to provide meal and rest breaks to about 1,200 workers, union officials said Tuesday.

The suit, filed in 2008, covers all hourly employees who worked at the hotel at 5711 W. Century Blvd. from 2004 to 2011. With more than 1,230 guest rooms, the Hilton Los Angeles Airport is one of the largest hotels in Los Angeles.

Nationally, more than 7,000 collective actions were filed in federal court in 2011 alleging wage and hour violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act, an approximately 400% increase since 2000.

For more:  http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/06/hotel-settlement.html

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by | June 5, 2012 · 6:26 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: U.S. Justice Dept. Files "Employment Discrimination Lawsuit" Against Nevada Hotel; "Pattern Of Unlawful Eligibility Verification"

“…The suit alleges the property  engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination in the employment eligibility verification and reverification process…The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) requires employers to treat all authorized workers equally during the hiring, firing and employment eligibility verification process, regardless of their national origin or citizenship status.”

The suit seeks an unspecified fine and “full remedial relief to work-authorized non-U.S. citizen employees for the losses they have suffered, including back pay and reinstatement.”

The U.S. Justice Department is suing the Tuscany Suites & Casino in Las Vegas over allegations the property discriminated against non-U.S. citizen job applicants and employees over a five-year period. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C., last week announced it filed a lawsuit against the hotel-casino in the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer of the agency and served  the company on May 29. The complaint alleges:

  • Tuscany treated non-citizens differently from U.S. citizens during the employment eligibility verification and reverification process by requesting non-citizen employees provide more or different documents or information than was required.
  • Tuscany subjected lawful permanent residents to unnecessary reverification procedures based on their citizenship status. These are workers with Permanent Resident Cards (green cards).

The suit says the Tuscany had been hit with a discrimination complaint in early 2011 by an unidentified “charging party,” and that in October the Justice Department’s Office of Special Counsel notified the Tuscany “it was expanding the investigation to include a possible pattern or practice of document abuse against non-U.S. citizens.”

For more:  http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2012/jun/04/justice-department-alleges-las-vegas-casino-discri/

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by | June 4, 2012 · 6:19 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Missouri-Based Restaurant Chain Settles $10 Million "Drunk Driving Lawsuit" Brought By Family Of Brain-Damaged Boy

The parents of Abdallah Khader, now 6, sought $10 million from Kansas City, Mo.-based Applebee’s in a civil lawsuit…Abdallah Khader suffered damage to 80% of his brain in the crash, and his family incurred massive medical expenses. Their lawsuit asked for $10 million to cover round-the-clock medical care along with lost future earnings, mental anguish, and pain and suffering — all typical damages in a personal-injury case.

The Khaders’ lawsuit accused workers at a Mansfield, Texas, Applebee’s of serving a man 23 drinks in less than two hours, leading him to drive drunk and crash into the Khaders’ car. A law firm’s investigation was key to the Applebee’s settlement, the family’s lawyer said.

The firm’s investigation dug up the alleged drunken driver’s Applebee’s receipts, which showed he paid for nearly two dozen drinks in a two-hour span. Police determined the driver’s blood-alcohol level was more than three times Texas’ legal limit, which is 0.08%.

The Khaders sued Applebee’s and the drunken driver, a repeat DWI offender who also faces criminal charges related to the crash. The driver’s criminal trial is pending, KTVT reports.

For more:  http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/31/tablogsfindlawcom2012-injured-idUS369201020620120531

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by | June 2, 2012 · 6:40 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Widow Sues Missouri Sports Bar For "Wrongful Death And Negligence" After Party Tent Collapsed During High Winds

The lawsuit claims the bar was  negligent in failing to properly inspect the tent and by allowing customers  underneath it, even as weather forecasts warned of dangerous conditions…Kilroy’s had obtained a city permit for the tent April 11. But city officials  noted that their inspectors have no way to test a tent for structural strength  to make sure it can withstand 90 mph winds, an industry standard cited in the  local ordinance.

The wife of a man killed in the April 28 storm accident at Kilroy’s Sports Bar has filed a wrongful death suit against the pub and the company that  leased and installed the tent that collapsed on more than  100 patrons. Alfred Goodman, 58, of Waterloo, suffered head and neck injuries when  heavy wind gusts — estimated at up to 50 mph — lifted a party tent at the bar  from its moorings and pushed it and its heavy metal posts against a railroad  trestle.

Goodman was pronounced dead at St. Louis University Hospital. Another 16  people went to the hospital, and about 100 total were treated on the scene, for  a range of injuries.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/lawsuit-filed-by-widow-of-man-killed-in-st-louis/article_1a4c7cce-abfb-11e1-9dc8-001a4bcf6878.html#ixzz1we8mnojm

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by | May 30, 2012 · 6:53 am

Hospitality Industry Compliance Risks: Hotels Must Have "Written ADA And Local Accessibility Policies And Procedures" To Avoid Costly Litigation

 “…(without) written ADA and local accessibility policies and procedures for your hotel or timeshare property, then you are taking unnecessary risks…New Guest Room Requirements for Mobility and Communication Features requirements apply to new and altered public accommodations…”

What Can You Do to Avoid Liability?

  • Training – Training is critically important, and it can help prevent expensive litigation. Thought must go into the preparation of an accessible room, and the approach must be different depending on the disability of the individual who has booked the room. JMBM performs site inspection surveys and works with hotel operators to train the staff to address the needs and concerns of individuals with disabilities.
  • ADA Surveys/Site Inspections – Even if you own or operate a newly constructed property, an ADA Survey will likely reveal areas of non-compliance and rooms for improvement in policies and procedures. By working with a CASp (Certified Access Specialist program) certified consultant, you may enjoy certain protections against liability while you seek to bring your property into compliance.
  • Website Accessibility – This is an area of focus for the Department of Justice. This area is evolving, but your website must already comply with all current reservation requirements.

For more:  http://hotellaw.jmbm.com/2012/05/ada_compliance_panel.html

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by | May 21, 2012 · 6:19 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Texas Hotel Sued By Woman For "Negligence And Defamation" After Air Conditioning Unit In Room Causes Fire

 “…she lost her laptop, college course materials and “over 30 billable hours worth of work for freelance architecture jobs she was in the process of completing at the time the fire occurred.”

      She seeks damages for negligence and defamation.

A woman claims in court that she had to spend the night in a “fire-ravaged” hotel room among her charred personal belongings, while hotel employees spread false rumors that she had “tried to burn the hotel down.”      LaTanya Stevenson sued Hotel USA Partners LLC dba Crowne Plaza Austin, in Travis County Court.      Stevenson, a state worker, claims she attended a three-day regional administrative service conference at the Crowne Plaza in November 2011.      She says the hotel gave her a room where the air-conditioner was stuck on the coldest setting. Unable to budge the “black and nonresponsive” temperature controls, Stevenson says, she reported the problem to the front desk.

“When Ms. Stevenson was finally given an opportunity to speak to a member of the fire department, she learned from the fire marshal that the malfunctioning air conditioning unit, not her laptop was the root of the fire,” the complaint states. “She got back to her room to find all of her belongings either severely damaged by the water from the sprinkler system or charred by the flames, which emanated from the bad climate control unit.

For more:  http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/05/21/46648.htm

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by | May 17, 2012 · 6:38 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Nevada Hotel Sued For "Pregnancy Discrimination" By Room Service Sales Employee; Additional "Class-Action" Allegations For Unpaid Wages

In the same filing to sue the hotel for unspecified damages for pregnancy discrimination, Megia also made class-action allegations for unpaid wages on behalf of the hotel’s employees.

“…employees were not permitted to wear their uniforms outside work and had to pick up and drop off their uniforms before and after their shifts, often leading to additional overtime for which they were not paid, the suit claimed…”

Melodee Megia, a former employee at The Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, claims she was told she was fired from her job for saying “bye bye” on the telephone instead of “goodbye” while eight-months pregnant.

She has filed a lawsuit against the hotel for pregnancy discrimination and a class-action suit for workers’ wages, saying employees were not paid for the time they had to wait for and change into their uniforms on a daily basis.

Megia worked at the hotel from November 2010 until September 2011, when she said she was fired “based on her pregnancy,” according to court papers filed with the Clark County District Court in Nevada last week.

Megia was a “room service sales” employee answering the telephone when hotel guests called for room service, occasionally assisting in room delivery, her lawyers said.

For more:  http://abcnews.go.com/Business/fired-las-vegas-hotel-worker-sues-pregnancy-discrimination/story?id=16361237

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by | May 16, 2012 · 6:08 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Woman Sues Illinois Hotel Over Bartender's "Sexual Assault"; Convicted Employee Allegedly Obtained Room Key From Front Desk

“…The lawsuit contends Dabrowski on Oct. 27 spiked the woman’s drink with a “date rape” drug. He allegedly obtained the key to her room from the front desk and then sexually assaulted her as she lay unconscious on her bed in the hotel..”

A Naperville man accused in a federal lawsuit of sexually assaulting a female guest of the Hilton Lisle/Naperville hotel has been convicted of a misdemeanor charge of trespassing in the woman’s room.

Jayson D. Dabrowski, a former bartender at the hotel, has been ordered to serve seven days in the Sheriff’s Work Alternative Program, or SWAP, according to records on file in DuPage County Circuit Court in Wheaton. Dabrowski has also been placed on two years of court supervision, records indicated.

The woman, a resident of Virginia, is seeking more than $75,000 in damages. Her lawsuit is not expected to come to trial for at least a year.

For more: http://napervillesun.suntimes.com/news/12554670-418/man-accused-of-lisle-hotel-sex-attack-found-guilty-of-trespassing.html

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by | May 13, 2012 · 6:51 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Florida Hotel Nightclub Sued For "Racial Discrimination" When Security Guards Refuse To Allow Four Women Inside

Florida civil rights and criminal law attorney David Kubiliun is representing four South Florida women who claim they were not allowed to attend an upscale party the Arkadia Lounge inside Miami Beach’s famous Fountainebleau Hotel because of their race. Kubiliun says a man claiming to be the club’s promoter sent text messages to the women supporting their racial discrimination claims.

Kubiliun claimed it all began when Liz Lopez, Nancy Pierrot, Katuschca Jubuisson and Kat Bing, who are of African-American and Hispanic heritages, said promoter Rodrick Dudley invited them to the nightclub on Saturday, March 17 to celebrate a birthday. Kubiliun said when the group arrived, the club’s doormen would not allow them to enter.

“One security guard told one of the ladies that he didn’t think they were getting in because they are black and they would have to wait,” said Kubiliun. “The women who were well-dressed professionals said they didn’t see any other African-Americans enter the nightclub the entire time the aggravated group stood by in the lobby.”

For more:  http://www.eurweb.com/2012/05/south-florida-women-claim-racial-discrimination-at-fontainebleau-hotel-nightclub/

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