Herkenhoff v. Doubletree Hotels
Published: Apr. 12, 1997 | Result Date: Mar. 21, 1997 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: RCV06142 – $0
Judge
Court
San Bernardino Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Barry B. Novack
(Law Office of Barry B. Novack)
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Richard G. Whalley
(technical)
Peter Formuzis Ph.D.
(technical)
R. Bruce Ramm
(technical)
Defendant
Ronald L. Johnson
(technical)
Randall Sisk
(technical)
Facts
On the evening of Jan. 12, 1993, plaintiff Dawn Herkenhoff, a 37-year-old flight attendant, was injured in her room at the defendant Doubletree Hotel in Ontario. The cause of the plaintiff's injury was disputed. The plaintiffs, husband and wife, brought this action against the defendant hotel based on negligent security theories of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiffs made a C.C.P. º998 settlement demand for $100,000 and $10,000. The defendant made a C.C.P. º998 offer of compromise for $4,000 to the plaintiff wife and $1,000 to the plaintiff husband.
Specials in Evidence
$15,257 $121,631 $465,076 $16,000
Damages
The plaintiff claimed $1.2 million in damages. Her husband claimed loss of consortium.
Injuries
The plaintiff claimed she suffered a nearly severed ear requiring 12 stiches, scalp lacerations, a black eye, post traumatic stress disorder and severe depression.
Other Information
The verdict was reached approximately three years and six months after the case was filed. Motion for new trial is pending. Testimony from the plaintiffs treating internists, psychologist and psychiatrist was presented by videotape. Per the plaintiffs, this was the second incident of an alleged entry into an airline flight attendant's room within two months. In both cases, the flight attendants had been wearing diamond jewelry. The hotel was being sold. On both occasions there was no sign of forced entry. And in both instances, keys were missing from the front desk. The jury found the defendant negligent in providing security, found for the hotel on causation, apparently not convinced how the plaintiff suffered her injuries. Per the plaintiffs, medical and psychological treating doctors agreed that the plaintiff wife was assaulted and her physical and emotional injuries were not consistent with a fall.
Deliberation
1+ days
Poll
10-2 (negligence), 9-3 (for defendants on causation)
Length
8 days
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