Hotel May Be Liable For Shooting In Parking Lot

A hotel may be liable to a guest who was shot in the parking lot, a Court has ruled. The suit was filed by a Plaintiff who was staying at a hotel located in a downtown area. The Plaintiff who was staying at a hotel located in a downtown area. The Plaintiff claimed he had selected the hotel based on representations that it was a safe, secure and reliable place to lodge. While he was retrieving his luggage from the car, he was approached by an individual who was not a guest of the hotel. The man demanded money, shot the Plaintiff and stole the car. The Plaintiff sued, alleging that the hotel knew it was in a known high-crime area and had failed to protect him from injury. The Court reasoned that because of a series of criminal incidents at the hotel, including 96 calls to the police in the three years prior to the Plaintiff’s shooting, the Court found that allegations here were sufficient to support a reasonable conclusion that the hotel “knew” its property was located in a high crime are, and that it was on notice that its guests were in danger of injury caused by similar criminal acts of third parties.