Guest booted from hotel can sue, raising wider implications

As reported at travelmole
Report by David Wilkening

A federal judge's ruling that a New York City hotel guest can sue the Marriott Marquis in Times Square has industry-wide implications. U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Kahn found that the hotel could be negligent for giving a guest, Jeffrey Dagen the boot when hotel officials knew he lived 165 miles upstate in Latham, had been drinking alcohol served to him by the hotel and had little chance of finding another room in the city that night.

"It was entirely foreseeable that (Dagen's) next stop after being kicked out of the hotel wasn't going to be on the set with Dick Clark filming New York's Rockin' Eve," Mr Kahn wrote in his ruling. "Common sense and common courtesy hold that innkeepers are expected to shelter those who have sought their protection, and … not to inject those people into obviously dangerous situations."

The lawsuit for $750,000 claims breach of contract and negligence. The suit raises the propsect of similar court actions taken by other hotel guests denied rooms, and raises the question of the rights of hotel-owners as well as guests. Joe McInerney, president of the American Hotel and Lodging Association, said his organization does not keep statistics on hotel evictions, but that they are not uncommon — especially during holiday celebrations, weddings, conventions or proms, reported the AP. Mr Dagen and the rest of his party were evicted from the hotel after paramedics were called to deal with an unconscious woman. The hotel did not refund Mr Dagen's $4,000.

Dagen told hotel managers he had been drinking, that he had nowhere else to go and was too tired to drive home, court papers say. On his way home, Dagen's car left a highway and struck a tree. His leg was broken and he suffered chest injuries. He was not cited for driving under the influence, said Richard Feirstein, his attorney.