Facts

Dr. Ivy Lizette Ewell Eldridge, principal at a Riverside, California school, was a guest at Disneyland Hotel on April 9, 2018, and a party to Disneyland Hotel's rental agreement. She woke up in her hotel bed with bedbug bites. Eldridge submitted pictures of the bites on her back, nape, and head, rashes on her body, and bedbugs allegedly found in her hotel room. Eldridge filed suit against the owners and managers of the property, Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., the Disneyland Hotel, seeking equitable relief, monetary and punitive damages.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff maintained that defendants failed to maintain the hotel premises in a reasonable, safe condition and knew or should have known that failing to properly maintain pest control on the property was inadequate in ensuring plaintiff's health wellness and habitability. Plaintiff contended that during her stay the property was unsafe, unsanitary, unhealthy, uninhabitable, in a state of disrepair and in violation of building, health and safety laws. Moreover, plaintiff maintained that as a direct and proximate result of defendants' failure to repair and maintain pest control at the hotel, she suffered emotional and physical injuries, including: severe skin rash and personal injuries over her entire body; property damage to clothing and personal belongings; and emotional distress from sleeplessness, inconvenience, humiliation, grief, discomfort, anxiety, and other symptoms. Plaintiff also alleged that she incurred out-of-pocket expenses to repair and remediate her hotel room. Finally, plaintiff argued that she would not have stayed in the hotel had she known that the property was infested with bed bugs.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS: Defendants denied all contentions.

Result

$100,000 settlement