Category Archives: Liability

by | December 7, 2012 · 8:59 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Florida Hotel And Spa Sued For "Sexual Abuse" Of Woman During Massage; Masseuse Used "Inappropriate Draping Techniques" And Contact

“…The suit alleges masseuse failed to use appropriate draping techniques and within 10-15 minutes, Hospitality Industry Lawsuitshe was completely naked…he proceeded to “massage” her exposed breast and lower belly, saying it was a technique in which he specialized, according to her attorney…”

A woman and her attorney have filed a lawsuit against a Miami Beach spa after she claimed she was sexually abused by a masseuse. According to the lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court early Thursday morning, the unnamed woman went to the Sanctuary Hotel on South Beach with her husband on Feb. 20th and purchased a massage at the Sanctuary Spa & Salon through Groupon.

According to the suit, Fraga continued the sexual conduct by rubbing between her buttocks, legs and private parts and placed his penis in her hand. The woman has sued the Sanctuary Hotel Group, Inc.

For more:  http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/12/06/lawsuit-woman-alleges-sex-abuse-by-masseuse-at-sobe-spa/

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by | December 6, 2012 · 8:01 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Restaurant Dishes And Silverware Cleaning And Sanitation Methods "Fall Short Of Eliminating Norovirus" According To Research Study

“Norovirus is the leading cause of epidemic gastroenteritis and the major cause of foodborne illness in the United States…proper sanitation and handling remain the single biggest factor that can prevent cross-norovirus outbreak hotelscontamination of food and dishware at food service establishments…better agents or methods (are needed) to significantly reduce the presence of norovirus…”

Restaurant dishes and silverware may be an overlooked place where people can catch stomach viruses, according to a new study published December 5, 2012 on the PLOS One website.

While the current industry guidelines for cleaning dishware used in public settings are effective at neutralizing bacteria, researchers at The Ohio State University found that they appear to fall short of eliminating norovirus.

Norovirus is the leading cause of epidemic gastroenteritis and the major cause of foodborne illness worldwide, responsible for at least 50% of all gastroenteritis outbreaks in the United States.

For more:  http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0050273#s5

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by | December 4, 2012 · 8:02 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Kentucky Restaurants Sued By Cities For "Multiple False Alarms"; Thousands Of Dollars In Unpaid Fines

“…The city has filed 37 lawsuits in recent weeks — with at least 13 more pending — against the most egregious offenders, seeking thousands of dollars in unpaid fines and hoping to send a message about fixing alarms that False_Alarmswaste police time and cost taxpayer dollars…”

More than 40 times since 2008, Louisville Metro Police Department officers have made emergency runs to the Taco Bell on East Broadway, only to find they were responding to a false alarm.

Under a policy enacted in June 2005 that aims to crack down on residents and businesses who have multiple false alarms, the city has fined the Taco Bell — repeatedly — up to $500 per false alarm.

But the restaurant, like some others, has not paid its fines, which now total $10,700, according to city records.

Before police began charging fees for false burglary and hold-up alarms in 2005, officers were responding to more than 40,000 false alarms a year, Gibson said. Since then, that number has fallen dramatically, with less than 20,000 false alarm runs through October of this year.

For more:  http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20121203/NEWS01/312030096/City-sues-collect-false-alarm-fines?odyssey=nav|head

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by | December 3, 2012 · 6:58 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Hotel Employee Causes Chemical Reaction By "Accidentally" Mixing Pool Chemicals, Forcing Evacuation; Hazmat Team Sent For Clean-Up

“…an employee had accidentally poured chlorine into a container of muriatic acid, causing a chemical chlorine gas leakreaction…since chlorine was diluted and poured down a drain by an employee, the Region of Peel’s hazardous materials team has also been sent to the hotel…”

A mishap with pool chemicals has forced some of the staff and guests at the Hilton Garden Inn on Traders Blvd. E. to be evacuated from the hotel this morning.

Everyone on the first floor of the building was evacuated as the Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services Department and police arrived. The second floor has now been evacuated after guests reported smelling chlorine. A Mississauga Transit bus has been sent to the hotel at 100 Traders Blvd. E., just east of Hurontario St.,  to accommodate those who have been forced outside. A decontamination area has been set up to help with the clean-up.

An ambulance has taken one person to Credit Valley Hospital.

For more:  http://www.mississauga.com/news/article/1547378–hotel-evacuated-after-pool-chemical-mix-up

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by | December 2, 2012 · 7:15 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Texas Hotel "Stairwell Fire" Forces Evacuation Of Nearly 400 Guests; Building Remains Without Power

“…Dallas Fire Rescue said the fire happened in the south stairwell on the third floor…electricity was shut off Hotel fire and smoke damageand the hotel remains without power…”

Hotel management said 387 people were listed as guests at the time of the fire and everyone evacuated.

A Downtown Dallas hotel fire caused the evacuation of nearly 400 guests on Saturday afternoon.

One person was taken to the hospital for further evaluation of possible burns.  Their name and condition have not been released. Paramedics treated some other people on scene for non-life threatening issues.

As of 5:30 p.m., the fire is extinguished but electricity has been shut off to the hotel.

Management is now allowing all guests to gather their belongings and transfer to another local hotel. Investigators are searching for the hotel fire’s cause.

For more:  http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Hundreds-Evacuated-In-Downtown-Dallas-Hotel-Fire-181695311.html

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by | December 1, 2012 · 7:18 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Hotels Warned By Federal Trade Commission (FTC) For "Deceptively Low" Estimates Of Room Costs; Undisclosed "Resort Fees" May Violate Law

 “One common complaint consumers raised involved mandatory fees hotels charge for amenities such as newspapers, use of onsite exercise or pool facilities, or internet access, sometimes referred to as ‘resort fees.’  FTCThese mandatory fees can be as high as $30 per night, a sum that could certainly affect consumer purchasing decisions.”

The Federal Trade Commission has warned 22 hotel operators that their online reservation sites may violate the law by providing a deceptively low estimate of what consumers can expect to pay for their hotel rooms.

The warning letters cited consumer complaints that surfaced at a recent conference the FTC held on “drip pricing,” a pricing technique in which firms advertise only part of a product’s price and reveal other charges as the customer goes through the buying process.   The warning letters also state that consumers often did not know they would be required to pay resort fees in addition to the quoted hotel rate.

“Consumers are entitled to know in advance the total cost of their hotel stays,” said Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz.  “So-called ‘drip pricing’ charges, sometimes portrayed as ‘convenience’ or ‘service’ fees, are anything but convenient, and businesses that hide them are doing a huge disservice to American consumers.”

The letters strongly encourage the companies to review their websites and ensure that their ads do not misrepresent the total price consumers can expect to pay.

For more:  http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/11/hotelresort.shtm

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by | November 30, 2012 · 7:28 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: Arizona Restaurant Settles EEOC "Pregnancy Discrimination" Lawsuit For $15,000; Servers Removed From "Sunday Football Schedule"

“…The EEOC’s lawsuit…charged that Sandbar instituted a policy of removing pregnant women from its Sunday schedule at its Peoria restaurant in an attempt to allegedly satisfy its male Sunday football EEOCcustomers… it believed its male customers did not wish to see pregnant women while they watched Sunday football games. Working on Sundays during football season was the most or one of the most lucrative shifts during the week for the pregnant employee…”

A Peoria, Ariz., restaurant will pay $15,000 and furnish other relief to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC had alleged that West Sand, LLC, doing business as Sandbar Mexican Grill, unlawfully removed a pregnant employee from working on Sundays during football season because she was pregnant.

According to the EEOC, pursuant to this policy, Sandbar removed a pregnant woman from its lucrative Sunday schedule, causing her a significant loss of income. Sandbar denied the discrimination.

Sandbar Mexican Grill will pay $15,000 to the female employee to resolve this EEOC case. Under the consent decree settling the suit, Sandbar also must also (1) provide anti-discrimination training for all employees who work at its Peoria location; (2) review and revise, if necessary, its policies to ensure they prohibit sex and pregnancy discrimination as well as retaliation and ensure a strong and clear commitment to a workplace free of such bias; (3) investigate allegations of sex discrimination, pregnancy discrimination and retaliation promptly, fairly, reasonably, and effectively and ensure that appropriate corrective action is taken; and (4) post a notice that sex and pregnancy discrimination -or retaliation for complaining about it – is unlawful.

“Pregnancy discrimination remains a persistent problem in the 21st-century workplace,” said Mary Jo O’Neill, regional attorney of the EEOC’s Phoenix District Office. “Employers cannot disadvantage the terms and conditions of a pregnant employee’s work to satisfy an assumed customer preference about the physical appearance of employees, which is likely untrue in any event.”

EEOC District Director Rayford Irvin added, “The EEOC will continue to be vigilant in rooting out pregnancy discrimination. This type of unlawful exclusion is never a winning game plan.”

For more:  http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/11-28-12a.cfm

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by | November 26, 2012 · 1:41 pm

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: Recent Texas Hotel Room Robberies Linked To "Electronic Lock Hacking"; Thefts Involving Digital Devices Expected To "Explode Nationally"

“…the Houston Hyatt may not be the only site hit with the Onity hack. An alert published by the insurance firm Petra Risk Solutions in October claimed that “several” hotels in Texas have had their locks opened with Brocious’ technique. Todd Seiders, a former Marriott security director who now works as director of risk management at Petra, says he spoke with the general manager of one of those hotels, who knew of at least three Texas hotels affected in total…”

“…hotels with Onity locks need to either shell out for Onity’s circuit board fix or at least block access to their locks’ ports, says Todd Seiders of Petra Risk Solutions–he estimates that more than 80% of his customers have implemented a fix since August, but says that many more hotels around the world may not have been so careful…”

Whoever robbed Janet Wolf’s hotel room did his work discreetly. When Wolf returned to the Hyatt in Houston’s Galleria district last September and found her Toshiba laptop stolen, there was no sign of a forced door or a picked lock. Suspicions about the housekeeping staff were soon ruled out, too—-Wolf says the hotel management used a device to read the memory of the keycard lock and told her that none of the maids’ keys had been used while she was away.

Two days after the break-in, a letter from hotel management confirmed the answer: The room’s lock hadn’t been picked, and hadn’t been opened with any key. Instead, it had been hacked with a digital tool that effortlessly triggered its opening mechanism in seconds. The burglary, one of a string of similar thefts that hit the Hyatt in September, were real-world cases of a theoretical intrusion technique researchers had warned about months earlier—one that may still be effective on hundreds of thousands or millions of locks protecting hotel rooms around the world.

Last month Houston police arrested 27-year-old Matthew Allen Cook and charged him with theft in a September 7th break-in at the Hyatt House Galleria. Police also listed Cook as a suspect in the theft from Wolf’s room four days later and that of another guest at the hotel. Cook, who has a prior history of arrests for thefts and burglary, was identified when an HP laptop stolen from one of the hotel rooms was found in a local pawn shop, where staff helped police to identify him.

For more:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/11/26/security-flaw-in-common-keycard-locks-exploited-in-string-of-hotel-room-break-ins/?goback=.gde_76056_member_189780979

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by | November 25, 2012 · 5:47 pm

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Kansas Restaurant Fire Starts In Grease Fryers And Spreads To Attic; $150,000 In Structural And Contents Damage

“…The fire started in the grease fryers area, quickly got into the building’s attic area…of the estimated $150,000 loss, $100,000 was structural damage, the other $50,000 with the building’s contents…”

A grease fire Sunday afternoon caused an estimated $150,000 in damage to a Mexican-food restaurant on the city’s west side. Topeka Fire Department crews were sent about 3:15 p.m. to the Taco John’s restaurant, 1015 S.W. Wanamaker, on a report of a fire.

Capt. Greg Degand, acting battalion chief for the Topeka Fire Department, said at the scene that the initial call indicated the fire was under control. Degand, who was first on the scene, said he saw heavy smoke coming out of the Taco John’s flue area as he approached the restaurant.

However, when he entered the building, Degand said he saw flames in the kitchen area extending from the floor to ceiling. Because grease was involved in the fire, crews at first used a dry chemical extinguisher to get the blaze under control.

For more:  http://cjonline.com/news/2012-11-25/taco-johns-fire-causes-150000-damage

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by | November 23, 2012 · 9:08 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: North Carolina Motel Damaged After Meth Lab Explodes Inside Room

Agents with the State Bureau of Investigation donned chemical gear to sift through the rubble of the motel room to determine the cause of the explosion. Investigators said some of the materials used to make methamphetamine are highly flammable.

The front of a Dudley motel blew out early Friday when a methamphetamine lab inside one of the rooms exploded, authorities said. The explosion occurred at about 4:15 a.m. at the Old Goldwater Motel, 3428 U.S. Highway 117 Alternate. The Mar-Mac Fire Department responded to the motel, but authorities said the building sustained little or no fire damage.

Valentine Morales, who lives at the motel with his family, said the explosion awakened him as he slept on a sofa. He said his first thoughts were for his wife and three children sleeping in the next rooms.

Two of the people injured in the blast ran to Jeffrey Aultman’s house nearby for help.

“It scared me. I was getting ready to go out the door, and it was bang, bang, bang, and it shook me up,” Aultman said, noting that he initially thought the men at his door had been in a vehicle wreck.

Two of the injured drove themselves to Wayne Memorial Hospital in Goldsboro, authorities said. Wayne County EMS took two more people to the hospital.

For more: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/9255785/

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