Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

My friend and I were staying at a motel in San Francisco. We were accosted outside our room and the criminal forced his way in and attempted to rob us. He was arrested, we witnessed at a jury trial, and he was found guilty and sentenced. We sustained minor injury which we did not seek treatment for and are healed from. The motel was sorry and gave us a 10% discount! We feel that the motel is responsible for adequately offering reasonable security and safety when staying at their location.

We contacted the motel owners who acknowledged some responsibility for the incident but felt that $5000 in damages was unaffordable and excessive. Should we pursue this further?? We are actually concerned with all the trips we had to make back and forth from court ( We live in Sacramento) and the mental distress the entire incident caused. We are even more concerned with the unsuspecting families and travelers that may experience this in the future at this location on Market street. We discovered at the trial that this hotel is notorious for illicit sexual behavior and when we stayed there there were foreign travelers and families. We had NO idea and believe something should be done. Suggestions??


Asked on 4/09/10, 3:52 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Michael Stone Law Offices of Michael B. Stone Toll Free 1-855-USE-MIKE

And you never contacted a lawyer before now??!? If you want money from this motel you had better either go to small claims court in SF (you'll lose) or hire a SF lawyer and file a lawsuit before the legal time limit expires. Even then you'll have an uphill battle and, since you waited so long, the evidence will be stale, the witnesses will say they don't remember, and if you can still find a lawyer to take your case she'll be taking the field in the third quarter.

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Answered on 4/14/10, 7:04 pm
Jonathan Reich De Castro, West, Chodorow, Glickfeld & Nass, Inc.

Unless the motel owners had knowledge of a dangerous situation, i.e. this was something that had happened before rather than just a random event, they might well have no liability of any kind to you. From your statements, however, and the fact that you demanded only $5,000, it seems that what you are really trying to do is to take advantage of the situation to get a quick buck for yourselves.

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Answered on 4/15/10, 10:36 am


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