Callahan v. Marriott Marquis Hotel et al

CASE NAME: Callahan v. Marriott Marquis Hotel et al.

TYPE OF CASE: Failure to accommodate

COURT: San Francisco County Superior Court

JUDGE(S): Judge Kathleen Kelly

PLAINTIFF LAWYERS: The deRubertis Law Firm APC, David M. deRubertis; Law Offices of Susan Rubenstein, Susan Rubenstein; Law Office of Patrice L. Goldman, Patrice L. Goldman

DEFENSE LAWYERS: Littler Mendelsohn P.C., Michael Guasco, Joshua J. Cliffe, Salmecia Gaye, Daniel Rodriguez

When the attorneys representing a disabled hotel concierge went to trial against the Marriott hotel chain for failing to accommodate the special needs of a partially paralyzed concierge, they didn't call any of the client's friends or colleagues to the stand. Instead, most of the witnesses in their case in chief were senior Marriott employees.

"Basically, all the witnesses that we put on were their company people," said Susan Rubenstein, who filed the lawsuit for former concierge Dan Callahan. She said lead trial attorney David deRubertis "was able to get out of them very helpful evidence for Dan."

With just those witnesses, a trove of emails and testimony from Callahan's treating physician, they won a $20 million award for their client -- $5 million in noneconomic damages and $15 million in punitives. Callahan v. Marriott Marquis Hotel, CGC-20-584599 (S.F. Superior Court, filed May 28, 2020).

SUSAN RUBENSTEIN

Callahan had worked for the San Francisco Marriott Marquis Hotel for 30 years and considered it "like a second family," Rubenstein said. But in about 2014, a medical procedure left him partially paralyzed. He was only able to return to work the following year.

Initially, the hotel did a great deal to accommodate his needs, including allowing him to use a cane and a mobility device and to wear comfortable shoes and clothes. As his doctor insisted, he was allowed to alternate between sitting and standing.

But in 2018-19, the hotel delivered what deRubertis called "the kill shot" when, as part of a $150 million remodel, it replaced the previous concierge desk with a bank of drawers that provided no legroom at all for Callahan, or any other concierge, to sit. Callahan spent the next nine months unsuccessfully pleading in emails for some accommodation until he finally was forced to quit.

The first witness the plaintiff's attorneys called to the stand was the Marriott's occupational health nurse, about whom the defense attorneys had boasted in their opening statement, deRubertis said. He asked her what she would have told management if she had been consulted about the new cocierge desk. "This workstation should not be Mr. Callahan's workstation," she answered.

A top HR executive came to the same conclusion, according to an email deRubertis introduced.

"The workstation was honestly batshit crazy. It was insane," he said. When other hotel officials were called to testify, "they all rolled and admitted it was crazy."

The case did present several problems. Callahan had been an alcoholic and drug user years earlier. He had developed several other medical problems, including cardiac issues and PTSD from the medical procedure that injured his back.

And, shortly after he quit, the pandemic hit and the hotel fired all its concierges. As a result, the defense was confident the plaintiff had no damages, deRupertis said.

Attorneys for the hotel did not respond to a request to comment on the verdict.

But after the trial, jurors told the plaintiff's team how they reached their verdict. "They said it was the culmination of the workspace being so ridiculous and [Callahan's] attempts for a long time to get their attention," Rubenstein said.

-- Don DeBenedictis