Marriott Settles Civil Lawsuit Filed by a Woman Raped at Gunpoint in Front of Her Four Children in Parking Garage at Stamford Marriott
A confidential settlement has been made between the Marriott Hotel and a woman identified as Jane Doe who was sexually assaulted in the Stamford Marriott parking lot in front of her children at gunpoint. The assailant was a native of Danbury, CT and a transient carpenter and had evidently roamed the Marriott parking garage looking for victims before targeting a then 40-year-old mother. A report was made indicating that another woman called the police reporting that a man matching the assailant’s description had been following her around the garage approximately an hour before the attack. Another woman reported that her ATM card was stolen from the garage that afternoon. The complaint filed alleged that the assailant had been in the hotel garage acting suspiciously for days leading up to the sexual assault and further that hotel security staff failed to notice him or make him leave. According to a deposition in the case, the hotel had no security director or internal security police at the time of the assault. Lawyers hired by Marriott attempted to claim that the victim was careless and negligent and failed to exercise due care for her own safety and the safety of her children. Safety and privacy of hotel and motel guests should be the top priority for owners and operators of hotels, particularly Marriott.
As an experienced inadequate and negligent security lawyer who has handled a number of inadequate security cases involving assaults and attacks at hotels and apartment houses, I am all too familiar with situations involving poorly lit corridors, tunnels, nooks, crannies, parking lots, and other areas where crimes can easily be committed. In the case at hand, the prior behavior of the assailant, which was reported to the hotel staff, should have led them to take action to investigate and remove him from the premises. The fact that the hotel had no security director or internal security police is a significant factor in determining liability. Of course, each case is unique. If you or a loved one has sustained an injury or assault while in a hotel or apartment house, it is important to contact an experienced inadequate security and hotel attack lawyer who has the resources and investigators to carefully analyze the circumstances of the injury and work with the appropriate law enforcement officials. It is important to examine past incidents of criminal abuse at the location and surrounding areas that should have put the property owner on actual or constructive notice that the facility was potentially dangerous to customers and visitors.
