Category Archives: Claims

by | September 1, 2012 · 6:06 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Washington Restaurant Fire Caused By "Combustible Items Near Water Heater"; Over $1,000,000 In Damage

 “…the fire was most likely caused by combustible items being stored too close to the water heater…resulting in over $1,000,000 in damage…”

Investigators believe a fire at a Lynnwood restaurant this week started near a water heater, officials said Friday.
The fire broke out about 2 p.m. Wednesday at The Local Yolk at 4025 196th Street SW.

Diners and staffers got out safely, but the fire caused up to $1 million in damage, according to the Lynnwood Fire Department.

Investigators were unable to pinpoint what exactly started the fire. Most likely, it was caused by combustible items being stored too close to the water heater.

For more:  http://heraldnet.com/article/20120831/NEWS01/708319851/-1/NEWS01

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by | August 29, 2012 · 1:15 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Hotel And Restaurant Owners Should Maintain "Employment Practices Liability Insurance" And Institute Complaint Procedures To Reduce Employee Lawsuits

 “…these suits catch employers by surprise since, even if they terminate an employee for a business reason, every separated employee can claim discrimination on the basis of a protected class such as race, gender or sexual orientation…”

Employers who can afford it purchase Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) to protect their businesses.

In the last three to four years, HR lawsuits have been on the rise, and unfortunately, there does not seem to be any end in sight. The U.S. Department of Labor reports the number of lawsuits related to the Fair Labor Standards Act, alone, increased 35 percent in three years. And this is only one small area that an employer can be sued. The following steps can be taken to minimize lawsuits:

  • Your employee handbook must contain broad and multi-tiered complaint procedures so employees have sufficient recourse when they feel victimized by harassing or discriminating behavior.
  • Provide annual employment law training to all of your supervisors and require them to sign acknowledgments.
  • Educate your employees at the time of hire – during orientation, for instance – about the avenues open to them should they have a problem and need to complain.
  • Most critically, take prompt remedial action when someone complains. In other words, do something about it within 48 hours or less of receiving the complaint. It is best to seek legal advice when such a complaint occurs.

For more:  http://www.floridatrend.com/article/14575/more-employees-are-suing-employers

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by | August 25, 2012 · 7:38 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Missouri Hotel Roof Fire Results In "Severe Smoke Damage"; Costs Estimated At $20,000

“…(there was a) significant amount of smoke throughout the building…and damage in the lobby…estimated preliminary damage costs to be $20,000, according to the news release…”

A roof fire caused severe smoke damage at the Quality Inn in north Columbia on Tuesday afternoon. Kasey Ryan, a general manager and director of sales at the Quality Inn, said she thought the fire started between noon and 1 p.m.

“We noticed smoke in the lobby,” Ryan said. Guests lingering after a lunch meeting in the motel were asked to evacuate. Columbia Fire Department personnel arrived at the scene shortly after. Firefighters requested a second alarm roughly 20 minutes after their initial arrival, according to a news release. A dozen firefighters, five fire trucks, one ambulance and four police vehicles were present about 2:30 p.m.

Everyone safely evacuated and no injuries were reported.  “We’re just going to go through the process of cleaning up,” Ryan said. Ryan said she hopes the motel will be open in 24 hours, but a reopening date has not been set.

For more:  http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2012/08/21/fire-department-responds-fire-quality-inn/

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by | August 24, 2012 · 6:15 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: "Tornado-Damaged" Missouri Hotel Reopens After Spending Millions Of Dollars Repairing Windows And Structure

The tornado caused millions of dollars in damage, but no one was seriously injured…even the landscaping was dug up because of fallen glass.

The Hilton Hotel at Branson Landing will officially reopen September 15, more than six months after it was damaged by the Leap Day tornado. Since the February 29 EF-2 twister, 3,400 energy-efficient replacement windows have been installed at the hotel.

Nearly every piece of furniture and nearly all the carpet in the 12-story hotel will be new. The outside of the hotel will have a new look, too.

The Hiltons of Branson say new thermostats in all the guest rooms have a motion-detector system, allowing the room temperature to return to a pre-set level when the room is not occupied.

The temporary closure cost some team members their jobs. There are plans to rehire staff once the hotel reopens this fall. The Branson Convention Center, which sustained less damage than the adjacent hotel, reopened in the late spring.

For more: http://ozarksfirst.com/fulltext?nxd_id=691972

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by | August 20, 2012 · 6:23 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Delaware Restaurant Fire Caused By Electrical Failure; Unoccupied Building Suffers Significant Damage

 “… investigators determined the blaze was caused by an electrical failure in a storage room…causing approximately $100,000 in property damage to the unoccupied building…”

The Delaware fire marshal’s office says an early morning blaze that damaged a New Castle restaurant was accidental. The fire was reported shortly after 5 a.m. Sunday at the Casablanca restaurant on North DuPont Highway near Minquadale.

No injuries were reported in connection with the fire, which occurred while the building was closed and unoccupied. The fire caused an estimated $100,000 in damages.

For more:  http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/df9c669c4360469dbde60f932c9cdff2/DE–New-Castle-Fire

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by | August 18, 2012 · 6:24 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Washington DC Restaurants Damaged In 2011 Flood "Reinvent Themselves" By Rebuilding With "New Concepts"

“…The establishment was hit hard by the flood…the owners used some insurance money to rebuild. But they also took the opportunity to come up with a new concept for their establishment…”

“…(the owners) renegotiated the lease and worked with Washington Harbour so insurance covered 85 percent of the about $5 million needed to rebuild the restaurants…”

Three restaurants at Washington Harbour are preparing to reopen after the spring 2011 flood that covered parts of the K Street complex in 10-plus feet of water. Tony and Joe’s Seafood Palace and Nick’s Riverside Grill are expected to fully open at the end of this week, and Farmers and Fishers plans to reopen as Farmers Fishers Bakers at the end of October. All three closed after an April 2011 storm during which MRP Realty, the company that manages the complex, raised only three-quarters of the floodgates that block the establishments from the Potomac River.

Nick Cibel, whose family owns both Tony and Joe’s and Nick’s Riverside Grill, said the flood was devastating, but he and his relatives have made the best of the situation.

“It was complete destruction at both restaurants, and everything had to be thrown away and rebuilt,” he said. “We are taking full advantage of that by reinventing ourselves. We want to be known by our food, not just the waterfront.”

Both Joe’s and Nick’s have been operating with outside seating and a reduced menu since about a month after the flood, while the interiors have undergone renovations. Tony and Joe’s has an updated design that allows for a wider, unobstructed view of the river. Nick’s Riverside Grill’s square footage has increased by 25 percent, and the restaurant will carry more international cuisine.

For more:  http://www.thegeorgetowndish.com/thedish/flood-damaged-restaurants-set-reopen

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by | August 17, 2012 · 6:48 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: California Hotel Owner Found Guilty Of Violating "Unruh Civil Rights Act" For Discrimination Against Religious Group; $1.2 Million Statutory Damages And $440,000 In Punitive Damages Awarded By Jury To Plaintiffs

“…The jury decided on Wednesday that the hotel and Adaya violated California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, which bars hotels and other business from discriminating on the basis of sex, race, color or religion…the hotel and owner were also ordered to pay approximately $440,000 in additional punitive damages to the plaintiffs…”

A Muslim hotel owner discriminated against a Jewish group during a Southern California poolside charity event by ordering removal of banners and ousting them from the pool and spa, a jury decided in awarding $1.2 million statutory damages. The suit was filed by Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, whose members had gathered two years ago at Santa Monica’s ocean-view Hotel Shangri-LA, which is owned by Tehmina Adaya. The owner is a Muslim of Pakistani descent.

The event was organized by Platinum Events, a marketing firm that had organized other gatherings at the Shangri-La after a $30-million renovation three years ago.

Workers and security guards at the Art Deco hotel were acting on Adaya’s orders when they told members of the group to get out of the pool and spa and remove banners and literature, according to trial testimony.

In her testimony, Adaya denied ordering a halt to the event for fear that her family would cut off her financing. Adaya inherited control of the hotel from her father, Ahmad Adaya, a real estate tycoon and philanthropist who died in 2006.

For more:  http://www.jewishjournal.com/thenon-prophet/item/additional_440000_in_punitive_damages_imposed_on_hotel_shangri-la_20120816/

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by | August 12, 2012 · 7:05 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: California Hotel Sued By Nine Guests Claiming They Contracted Meningitis From Hotel Pool; Suit Seeks Damages For Premises Liability And Negligence

“…The plaintiffs claim the hotel failed to sanitize the pool, fill it with clean water, use purification chemicals or “obtain proper certification of health & safety codes to reopen pool and water park facilities after pool closure.”

They seek medical costs, damages and punitive damages for premises liability, negligence, gross negligence, public nuisance and loss of consortium.

Nine people claim they contracted meningitis and/or other deadly diseases two years ago from a pool at the Grand Pacific Palisades Resort in Carlsbad. Lead plaintiff Gerald Green claim that during their stay in August 2010 the hotel failed to properly sanitize its family swimming pool. Plaintiff claim that hotel staff told them later that “the pool had been closed due to prior fecal or other form of contamination.”

“Plaintiffs were caused to sustain severe personal injuries, including, but not limited to symptoms of fever, headache, myalgias [muscle pain], vomiting and diarrhea, resulting in diagnoses to include meningitis and aggravated multiple sclerosis,” the complaint states.
Meningitis is a potentially fatal disease caused by inflammation of the protective membranes of the brain and spinal cord. Multiple sclerosis, which causes damage to nerves in the brain and spinal cord, is a debilitating disease with no known cure.

For more:  http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/08/06/49015.htm

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by | July 28, 2012 · 7:25 am

Hospitality Industry Alcohol Risks: Mississippi Casino Resort And Spa Sued For $75 Million By Family Of Man Who Died After Consuming "Free Drinks"

The suit claims casino workers kept serving free drinks to 30-year-old Bryan Lee Glenn in August 2009, ignoring pleas from the drunken man’s family to stop serving him. 

A lawsuit claims a Mississippi casino served so much alcohol to a man taking powerful prescription painkillers that he died on the floor of his hotel bathroom. The lawsuit against IP Casino Resort and Spa in Biloxi was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Gulfport. It seeks damages of $75 million.

The suit says Glenn died in his hotel room. He’d taken prescribed painkillers including Percocet, morphine and Xanax, as well as antipsychotic medications in the three weeks before his death, the lawsuit says. He was being treated for physical injuries as well as psychosis and hallucinations. Glenn had suffered a traumatic brain injury in a 2004 four-wheeler accident, then suffered back injuries in a 2007 car wreck.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/27/2915715/75m-lawsuit-claims-casino-let.html#storylink=cpy

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by | July 22, 2012 · 4:08 pm

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: North Carolina Companies Outlawed From Firing Employees Before Or After Filing Legitimate Workers' Comp Claims

The North Carolina Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act (REDA) outlaws discharging em­­ployees for filing workers’ compensation claims. It’s a protected activity. 

Equally illegal: Jumping the gun by firing employees before they ­actually fill out the workers’ compensation paperwork. Employees are also protected when they inform a supervisor that they may be filing a claim soon.

Recent case: Shannon worked as a property manager for M&M Properties for just three weeks. While cleaning a hotel room as part of his training, Shannon said he injured himself. He reported the incident to his supervisor and said he wanted to check with his doctor before filing a workers’ compensation claim in case he had merely pulled a muscle.

Meanwhile, the company issued a disciplinary warning, outlining problems encountered during Shannon’s training, such as tardiness and lack of communication. He was fired a few days later.

He went ahead with filing the workers’ comp claim—and then followed up with a REDA lawsuit. The company argued that because Shannon hadn’t filed a claim before he was terminated, he couldn’t argue retaliation.

The court disagreed. Otherwise, employers would be able to fire employees—and dodge liability—as soon as they got hurt. (Fatta v. M&M Properties Man­­agement, No. COA11-1397, Court of Appeals of North Caro­­lina, 2012)

For more:  http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/31679/workers-comp-claim-resist-urge-to-retaliate

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