The Potential for Class-Action Status in Hotels With Bed Bug Infestations, Part Two

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Editor’s Note: This is the second article of a two-part series on bed bug law written by Jeffrey M. Lipman, Attorney-At-Law and Polk County Magistrate Judge. In part two, Lipman outlines how a class-action lawsuit is defined, how they are formed in the eyes of the law, the class-action certification process and more.

Part II – Hotel Class Action In Practice

NATIONAL REPORT—The risk for class-action status in hotels is real. Thus far, class-action status for bed bug infestations has been granted in Iowa and South Carolina. The Iowa class-action case involved two apartment buildings with a settlement of approximately $2.5 million. The South Carolina case, which was certified, remains pending in District Court.

In addition to apartment class action cases, there is at least one case against a homeless shelter that has been certified. Multiple mass tort cases in California have been settled in excess of $300,000 in both apartment and Single Resident Occupancy (SRO) complexes.

Verdicts Against Hotels

Recently, California juries have returned verdicts against a hotel in excess of $500,000 and apartment complex in the amount of $3.5 million. In Maryland, juries have returned verdicts in the Parker case in Baltimore in the amount of $90,525 (apartment case); Shabaan case in Annapolis in the amount of $800,000 (apartment case); and, $100,000 in a Prince George County case (hotel verdict) within the past five years.

The first reported bed bug case—Mathias v. Accor in the Seventh Circuit—that arose from an incident at a Chicago hotel in the early 2000s had a verdict of $360,000 was thought to be an outlier. Recent results from juries on both the East and West Coast reveal this is the norm and not the exception. Cases have been brought in both state and federal courts. In fact, in an apartment case arising out of Waukegan, IL (Stewart v. Waukegan Housing Authority), a federal judge in Chicago allowed a bed bug class action to proceed in federal district court under a civil rights “state created danger” doctrine.

Challenges for Hotels

Hotel cases pose different challenges than apartment cases. Due to expectation of privacy concerns, an apartment manager has limited access to individual apartment units to make periodic inspections for bed bugs. They must rely to some extent on tenants reporting suspected bed bug activity. The “duty of care” is therefore adjusted based on the realities faced by owners of apartment buildings. Hotels, on the other hand, are given daily access into every room by housekeeping and maintenance.

While catching a single bed bug introduction may be difficult, hotel staff are expected to make at least a cursory inspection to search for evidence of bed bugs. The goal is to prevent a small introduction from becoming an infestation. This fact may be the reason why a short stay at a hotel in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, produced a recent verdict of $546,000 while an extended stay in an apartment unit in San Mateo, CA, sustained a verdict of $71,652. However, in the San Mateo case, the attorney’s fees obtained were more than $500,000, highlighting how costs explode when these fees are considered.

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Act now to start preventing bed bugs in your hotel.

Written by Jeffrey M. Lipman, Attorney-At-Law and Polk County Magistrate Judge.

The Lipman Law Firm practice handles consumer class action litigation, specializing in class action bed bug litigation. Jeff Lipman is a frequent speaker throughout the United States, including the National Pest Management Association and Entomological Society of America.