Facts

In October of 2017, Plaintiff Kelsey Yates was visiting the Onyx rooftop bar of the Hotel Shangri-La in Santa Monica. At some point during the evening, Plaintiff was removed from the premises by hotel security guards. After removing Plaintiff from the building, one of the security guards began searching Plaintiff's purse, at which point Plaintiff struck the guard on the face. Following this attack, the security guards restrained Plaintiff and called the police. While restraining Plaintiff, she was held to the ground and had her head pressed against concrete before Santa Monica Police officers placed Plaintiff under arrest for public intoxication and battery.

Plaintiff pled guilty to the public intoxication charge in exchange for her battery charges being dropped. After she was released by police, Plaintiff visited an urgent care center that diagnosed her with a concussion, a bruised hip, a chipped tooth, and cracked ribs. Plaintiff's psychiatrist also diagnosed Plaintiff with PTSD and anxiety disorder, and determined that she was now fearful of security guards. Plaintiff's psychiatrists noted, however, that it was impossible to distinguish triggers for Plaintiff's deteriorated mental state between the incident and the effects of her pre-existing severe (and to that point untreated) psychiatric and psychological issues, including bipolar disorder.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff contends that it was unnecessary for Defendants' security guards to forcefully restrain her after plaintiff violently struck a guard, as there were three security guards present. Plaintiff further contends that her subsequent psychological deterioration was the result of the trauma defendants inflicted on her, and not her pre-existing (but to that point undiagnosed) psychiatric disorders.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendants contend that the actions of security were reasonable under the circumstances, as the Plaintiff was belligerent and had attacked staff prior to the arrival of police. Defendants also contended that the psychiatric issues Plaintiff claimed following the incident were manifestations of her previous untreated disorders. Finally, Defendants contended that if there should be any liability for the injuries Plaintiff sustained, those damages should be the responsibility of Cross-Defendant All-Nation Security Services, and not the hotel that hired them for security services.

Result

The parties agreed to settle the case for $112,500.