Legal Question in Personal Injury in California
Liability for damage to guest's car in a motel parking lot
If a guest at a motel has his car broken into, is the motel liable for the damage/loss? In answering the question, does it matter if one of the three video cameras that was supposedly ''scanning'' the area was known to the manager to be ''not functioning'' AND that the motel has had at least one other similar break-in during the past few months? (Also, please note that the hotel advertises on the web ...''free parking for up to 14 days if you stay one night)
Please advise.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Liability for damage to guest's car in a motel parking lot
Generally the hotel's only obligation will be to exercise reasonable care toward the cars in its parking lot. Allowing you to use the parking lot does not create a duty to defend your car from criminals or to reimburse you for damage they might cause.
The broken surveillance camera is not likely to change this analysis, since the hotel was not obligated to have surveillance in the first place. The fact that it didn't do something it wasn't required to do is not relevant. Besides, even if the camera was working your car might have been targeted anyway; after all, the thieves probably did not know the camera was broken and may well have felt they could get in and out before being caught.
Drivers have the option of buying insurance policies to protect their cars from this type of damage. The owners of parking lots provide parking, not insurance coverage, and are not required to give you for free what you could have purchased elsewhere.
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