Tag Archives: Lawsuits

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Colorado Hotel And Restaurant Sued By Woman Who “Drank Bleach In A Water Glass”; Lawsuit Seeks $100,000 For “Negligence And Breach Of Implied Warranties Of Merchantability And Wholesomeness Of Food”

“…(plaintiff) suffered serious and continual medical problems, including the inability to eat effectively, persistent acid reflux syndrome, digestive problems and other symptoms…(her) relationship with her husband Hospitality Industry Injury Lawsuitsand her ability to care for her children have been affected…among the claims in the lawsuit are negligence, breach of implied warranties of “merchantability and wholesomeness of food,” loss of consortium and a violation of Colorado’s premises liability statute…”

A Basalt woman is suing the owner and operator of the Viceroy Snowmass, alleging that she was served and drank out of a glass that had bleach in it at the hotel’s Eight K restaurant. The incident happened during brunch in February 2011, according to the lawsuit by Janine and John Reichert. The suit, filed Tuesday in Pitkin County District Court, seeks more than $100,000. It lists Base Village Owner, the hotel’s owner, and Viceroy operator KHM Snowmass as the defendants.

After being seated, a waiter poured water for the Reicherts’ party from a pitcher, wrote their attorney, Alan Feldman of Aspen, in the lawsuit. “Immediately after Janine drank from the glass, she jumped up out of her seat, stating that she had drank chemicals and needed to get to the bathroom as she was going to throw up,” the lawsuit says. “Janine’s throat began to burn and swell up. … [She] raced to the restroom, where she became violently ill.”

John Reichert dipped his finger in her glass and allegedly tasted a bleach solution. The wait staff then cleared all of the glasses from the table and disposed of their contents, Feldman wrote. One Eight K employee allegedly told John Reichert that “it is typical for the water pitchers to be soaked in a solution of bleach for sterilization and that the waiter could have picked up a water jug soaking in this bleach solution, believing it to be drinking water,” Feldman wrote.

However, as Janine Reichert was talking to a poison-control operator, a manager allegedly told her that she had ingested merely the residue from the bleach left on the jug.

For more:  http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/156795

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Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Illinois Nightclub Sued By Man Stabbed In The Chest By Patron Who Was “Over-Served Alcohol”

“…(plaintiff) required emergency surgery after he was stabbed in the chest…the lawsuit says (he) suffered severe and permanent injuries and “will be hindered and prevented from attending to his usual duties and Alcohol Drink Responsiblyaffairs…the suit alleges that Olaska’s intoxication played a role in the stabbing. A restaurant employee was also injured in the fight…”

A man who was stabbed during a confrontation that cost a Naperville teacher his life has filed a lawsuit against the club where the clash happened. William Hayes III is suing Frankie’s Blue Room in Naperville and owner Riff Menza, claiming the bar over-served Daniel Olaska, who is awaiting trial on charges that he wounded Hayes and killed Shaun Wild in February 2012.

Authorities have said that Hayes had been teasing Olaska about drinking beer from a wine glass when Olsaka stabbed him with a folding knife he was carrying. Wild, a second-grade teacher at a Naperville school and a friend of Hayes’, was attempting to stop Olaska from leaving the bar when Olaska fatally stabbed him, according to police.

Hayes was a senior at nearby North Central College when the incident occurred. Wild was a 2010 graduate of the college. Both played for the school’s football team.

For more:  http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-02-15/news/chi-naperville-frankies-blue-room-stabbing-lawsuit-20130215_1_daniel-olaska-shaun-wild-naperville-bar

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Injuries, Insurance, Liability, Management And Ownership

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Texas Man Born Without Hands Sues Amusement Park After “Operator Refused To Let Him On Ride”

“…after (he) complained to the park, Six Flags changed its policy for the ride he was not allowed to board. Now, a person must have “one full arm and one full leg” for entry…Bench says he hopes his lawsuit will change the Hospitality Industry ADA Lawsuitsway the park handles disabled customers and safety concerns. He says he hopes to “set a precedent that there is a better solution than what’s in place now.”

A Texas man born without hands is suing a major theme park after he was barred from a ride allegedly because of his disability. Clint Bench says he had been to the Six Flags in Arlington many times and never had a problem with the staff. But on a trip to the theme park in May, an operator refused to let him on a ride.

Bench went to guest services but had no luck. So he hired a lawyer and is now suing the park for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“We repeatedly offered to resolve this with Six Flags for not a dollar. Clint was absolutely adamant when he came to me that this was not about him getting a dollar,” his lawyer Levi McCathern said.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/clint-bench-flags-times-issuese-riding-knew-knew-article-1.1264187#ixzz2L4ZII2j2

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Filed under Guest Issues, Insurance, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Tennessee Hotel Sued By Guest Who Lacerated Leg On Bed Frame; $400,000 Sought For “Lost Wages, Suffering And Disfigurement”

“…a cap on the horizontal support bar of the bed frame extended out several inches from the box spring, and the cap, made of a stone-like material, was chipped, creating a sharp edge. The sharp edge was hidden by a bed Hospitality Industry Injury Lawsuitsskirt draped over the box spring, “concealing the sharp edge from plaintiff’s view…(she had to be) treated for infection and other complications from the laceration (resulting in) medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages, and scarring and disfigurement…”

A Florida widow and freelance author and illustrator has sued the Red Roof Inn in Clinton for up to $400,000 over a leg laceration she says she received while staying at the hotel in August. Lauretta J. Evans, 76, said she was on her way home to Florida on Aug. 7 when she stopped at the Red Roof Inn on Buffalo Road, according to a lawsuit filed in Anderson County Circuit Court on Feb. 8.

As she prepared to go to sleep, Evans said, she sat on a bed in the room and “immediately felt a sharp and intense pain in her lower left leg. Plaintiff looked down to see that she had sustained a severe laceration to her lower left leg, and perceived that she was bleeding profusely,” the lawsuit said.

It said emergency medical personnel were called to the scene, and Evans was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.

“This concealed sharp edge constituted a dangerous condition that represented a latent defect undiscoverable by the plaintiff,” the lawsuit said.

The Red Roof Inn, also referred to in the lawsuit as Sant Partnership, had a duty to keep its place of business, including rooms assigned to patrons such as Evans, free of “latent defects and dangerous conditions,” the suit said.

For more:  http://oakridgetoday.com/2013/02/13/florida-widow-sues-clinton-hotel-over-leg-laceration/

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Filed under Claims, Guest Issues, Injuries, Insurance, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: New York Restaurant Sued By Woman Hit By Car Outside Building; Neglected To Install “Curbs And Bollards”

“…the (plaintiff’s attorney) said Wendy’s only installed pedestrian safety blocks after the crash in December. He said if the restaurant had curb stops and bollards in place at the time of the incident, the tragedy would Hospitality Industry Injury Lawsuitshave been prevented…”

Theresa DiMilia and her 11-year-old daughter Samantha walked out of the Wendy’s restaurant on December 4 in Williston Park when suddenly a car being driven by an elderly woman smashed into them and pinned them against the wall. “The pain was so unbearable. I remember my daughter Samantha asking me if she was dead — ‘Am I alive mommy, am I alive?’” Theresa DiMilia told 1010 WINS’ Mona Rivera.

Their legs were crushed. Samantha DiMilia was treated and released after suffering a severely fractured leg. Now, two months later, Samantha is walking again, but Theresa DiMilia is still in a wheelchair after having both legs fractured in the incident.

The lawsuit names the driver of the vehicle who hit the DiMilias — 75-year-old Margaret Hogarty of Mineola — as well as Wendy’s International Inc. and Westbury Properties, LLC, which owns the property where the restaurant is located, as defendants.

For more:  http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/02/11/wendys-named-as-defendant-in-multimillion-suit-filed-by-injured-mother-daughter/

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Filed under Claims, Guest Issues, Injuries, Insurance, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: “Norovirus Food Poisoning” Class-Action Lawsuit Filed Against Wyoming Restaurant; Health Department Report Confirms Outbreak Source

“…according to the WDOH, 31 employees who worked at the Golden Corral restaurant were infected with norovirus while working…the lawsuit was filed on behalf of (those who) purchased food or drink at the Golden Norovirus OutbreakCorral Casper restaurant between November 20, 2012 and December 13, 2012 and (were exposed to) diarrhea and vomiting from multiple employees of the Golden Corral…”

Customers of the Casper, Wyoming Golden Corral filed a class action lawsuit against the restaurant Friday, alleging they were part of a norovirus food poisoning outbreak that was traced to food served at the restaurant in December. The lawsuit was filed in Federal District Court in Wyoming (Case Number 13CV024J) by Jason Ochs of The Ochs Law Firm and William Marler of Marler Clark.

According to a Wyoming Department of Health (WDOH) report, at least 305 patrons of the Casper Golden Corral restaurant became ill with norovirus infections after eating at the restaurant between November 17, 2012 and December 19, 2012. Norovirus infection causes nausea, diarrhea and/or vomiting and is highly infectious. Investigators from the Wyoming Department of Health Infectious Disease Epidemiology Program and Casper-Natrona County Health Department stated in their report that they were not able to determine exactly how norovirus was introduced to the restaurant, but said ill food-handlers could have contributed to the spread of norovirus among Golden Corral patrons.

The complaint states that named plaintiff Paul Feyhl, a Casper resident, ate at the Golden Corral restaurant on December 8, 2012 and subsequently fell ill with norovirus. According to court documents, the lawsuit was filed on behalf of Mr. Feyhl and “others similarly situated” who purchased food or drink at the Golden Corral Casper restaurant between November 20, 2012 and December 13, 2012 and whose exposure to norovirus was caused by:

1.    Exposure from diarrhea and vomiting from multiple employees of the Golden Corral
2.    Consumption of contaminated food and drink prepared by Golden Corral employees
3.    Exposure to, or close proximity with, persons who ate food or drink at the Golden Corral restaurant or were exposed to the restaurant’s infected employees.

For more:  http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/2/prweb10414517.htm

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Filed under Food Illnesses, Guest Issues, Health, Insurance, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Training

Hospitality Industry Safety Risks: Wisconsin Hotel Guest Files “Personal Injury Lawsuit” After Being Hit By Rider On Hotel’s Waterslide

“…(plaintiff) was at the hotel waterpark and went down the “Cyclone” waterslide. When he stood up in the pool below the slide’s trough, the complaint states, he was hit by another rider. The collision caused him to fall Hospitality Industry Injury Lawsuitsbackward and sideways, striking his head and neck on the slide’s trough…”

A Waukesha man has filed suit against Country Springs Hotel, saying it was negligent when it allowed a rider to travel down a waterslide after him, resulting in a collision. Robert and Dale Flowers, a married couple residing in Avalon Square Senior Housing in downtown Waukesha, filed a personal injury lawsuit Wednesday in Waukesha County Circuit Court against Country Springs Hotel. The couple is seeking unspecified damages from the incident that occurred nearly three years ago, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit claims Country Springs Hotel did not have a video feed available to employees to tell them when a rider cleared the slide. Instead, they have one employee at the top of the waterslide telling riders when to go and another at the bottom of the slide.

Robert Flowers received “pain, suffering and disability, hospital expense, medical expense, loss of earnings and earning capacity,” according to the lawsuit. His wife, Dale, “sustained the loss of services, society and companionship of her husband,” according to the complaint.

For more:  http://waukesha.patch.com/articles/waterslide-collision-at-country-springs-hotel-results-in-personal-injury-lawsuit

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Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: New York Restaurant Sued By Former Delivery Workers For Deducting Money To Pay For “Online Order Service Fees”

“…the judge (stated) that tip deductions “were only permissible to the extent that they ‘did not enrich [the employer], but instead, at most, merely restored it to the approximate financial posture it would have occupied Hospitality Industry Lawsuitif it had not undertaken to collect credit card tips for its employees…the restaurant unlawfully retained almost $17,000 and compared the practice to passing on the cost of rent or materials to delivery workers…”

A lawsuit brought by former delivery workers against an Upper West Side restaurant that deducted money from their tips to pay the service fees of food-delivery Web sites can proceed, a federal judge has ruled. The ruling came in a suit filed against Indus Valley, on Broadway at West 100th Street, where eight former delivery workers say the restaurant kept 12 to 15 percent of their tips when customers placed their orders through services like Seamless and Grubhub.com.

Indus Valley sought to have the suit dismissed. It admitted to withholding the workers’ tips but said the practice was permissible to recoup fees charged by online delivery sites, in the same way that restaurants are allowed to deduct a percentage from tips left via credit card to cover credit card companies’ fees for converting those tips to cash.

But the judge, Alison J. Nathan of United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, rejected both Indus Valley’s argument and its request to dismiss the suit. A representative from Indus Valley declined to comment.

The service agreements with the delivery Web sites included charges for commissions and “advertisement fees,” in addition to  credit card processing fees. The agreements, Judge Nathan wrote, “suggest that Indus Valley deducted from gratuities costs beyond those incurred as the result of converting credit card gratuities to cash.”

A lawyer for the workers, Jane Chung, said that labor law bars restaurants from taking from workers’ tips without an explicit exemption, and said that the judge’s ruling effectively declares Indus Valley’s practice illegal.

For more:  http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/restaurant-loses-effort-to-have-ex-delivery-workers-suit-dismissed/

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Filed under Employment Practices Liability, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Louisiana Hotel Sued By Lobby Concierge For “Age Discrimination”

“…she was terminated in June 2012 from her position as a lobby concierge. At the time of her termination, she Hospitality Industry Lawsuitwas 53 years old…the plaintiff is asking for an award of damages for loss of pay, pain and suffering, mental anguish and distress, medical expenses, interest, and attorney’s fees…”

A former Ritz-Carlton concierge has filed an age discrimination lawsuit claiming she was terminated from her position due to her age and not because she left her shift two hours earlier than scheduled. Claudette Breve filed suit against The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. on Jan. 11 in federal court in New Orleans.

Breve began working at the Marriott Hotel in New Orleans in February 1998 and transferred to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in September  2000.

According to the court record, the defendant states it terminated Breve from her position because she violated hotel policies by leaving work early without the authorization of her supervisor. In response, Breve admits she left her shift early and states that she had arranged for another concierge to cover her shift. The other concierge failed to complete Breve’s shift and the replacement concierge arrived late for a shift. Breve and the person she arranged to complete her shift were fired over the incident, court documents state.

The defendant is accused violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

For more:  http://louisianarecord.com/news/248884-ritz-carlton-concierge-files-age-discrimination-lawsuit-after-termination

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Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: New York Hotel Settles Federal Class-Action Lawsuit For $550,000; “Service And Grutuity Charge” Not Paid To Workers

“…alleged that guests were not told that service charge was part of their bills. The amount of charge varied, depending on the service…in the dining room, standard meals were charged at a certain amount per diner Hospitality Industry Class Action Lawsuitswhether it was $5 or $8 or whatever, per meal, and also that the lodging charges were per night…”

Leatherstocking Corp., owner of the Otesaga Resort Hotel in Cooperstown, has agreed to pay a $550,000 settlement in a federal class-action lawsuit brought by service workers, largely over the distribution of service-charge proceeds. The workers alleged in the suit filed in Albany in 2010 that the hotel’s actions violated New York labor law the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

The lawsuit also alleged violations of overtime and minimum-wage standards, but the bulk of the case focused on a “service/gratuity” charge that the hotel charged guests and restaurant patrons, according to court papers.

According to court documents, the hotel insisted that it properly distributed all of the service-charge money to employees. The dispute centered on which employees were paid, according to the documents.

The plaintiffs contended that management employees who were not legally entitled to a share of the payments nonetheless received them, while the hotel countered that that all of the people it paid were entitled to a share of the money.

For more:  http://thedailystar.com/localnews/x1746084500/Otesaga-pays-550-000-to-settle-lawsuit

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