https://whitneyfirm.com/200000-hotel...it-settlement/
It may be news to you but a business cannot repeatedly injury people and not be liable.
BTW - I did not read the article but it seems to fit.
That isn't a cite it is an ad for a legal firm.
Also, there was nothing written in this thread that this was a case where the hotel "cannot repeatedly injury(sic) people."
You are right, it isn't a cite. It's a site. But more than that, it's a website for a real personal injury law firm - not fake people like you have here.
If the information on that site is totally false, other competitive lawyers in his area would have shut him down in a instant for making verifiably false claims. Yet you seem to patently believe a bunch of unverifiable and anonymous laypeople who post here just because they agree with you.
You're a good screener. Nobody is going to fool you.![]()
Here is some case law for you to read.
The first is a NY case that is your run-of-mill case (although one of first impression for the NY court) where guests of a hotel or motel get bitten by bedbugs and seek punitive damages. The court ruled that actual damages may be tried but not punitive damages. That seems to be the norm of the cases I found.
The second case is a case filed in the US Court of Appeals where the motel knew that rooms were infected with bedbugs and still leased them out offering refunds to those guests that complained.
While I am sure that there are settlement that never see a day in court, the law seems to be that the hotel or motel owners or management has to do something affirmative to have to pay punitive damages.
Read them carefully and maybe you will see the difference.
How can their liability have NOT been established? They were well aware of the bedbug problem...yet did no inspections to make sure my room was not infested before putting me in at as a guest. There are special small, hand-held lights used to detect the presence of these pests...not only of their presence, but of the signs they are there, which could be used upon changing the bedding for each new guest. I located these devices myself and did the research. Not expensive, and they do work. Yes, an expense for the hotel. Yes a bit more time for the maids to spend on the room. However, to keep someone from going through what I did - it's worth it. This manager told me they have had this problem for the last 20 years at least. Hundreds of claims. No liability? I think there is. But, I am not an attorney...just an unsuspecting invited guest who actually expects a duty of care to see that I am provided a room, that is clean, safe from bugs and bites and injuries.
You never, in your original or in any followup posts, mentioned that you had reason to believe that the hotel had prior knowledge of the bugs.
Yes...the clerk at the front desk said they do have them, and when they do...take care of them immediately...however,the manager told me that they have had the bed bug problem for over 20 years with many claims...but they have never paid out anything other than actual incurred expenses on the two times they went to court..they won....so, yes, they do know about them. Have for a very long time. They just take their chances with their guests....when they find them...they call in a bug company. I was certain I had mentioned that they were aware of the issue.