LIABILITY FOR BEDBUGS!
Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite... There has been increased press coverage lately regarding the return of bedbugs. Apparently, with decreased use of the bugkiller DDT (since the 1950s when bedbugs were nearly eradicated), the little buggers are on the rise in urban areas.
Reports of bedbug infestations have increased in Chicago from 900 to 1,650 since last year. New York is considering legislation to establish a bedbug task force, ban the sale of used mattresses, train exterminators, and regulate mattress disposal.
Hotel owners, especially, should be vigilant in the effort to rid their properties of bedbugs because they could be liable to their guests for the itchy bites that they receive. In Mathias v. Accor Econ. Lodging, 347 F.3d 672 (2003), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an award for compensatory and punitive damages from the District Court of the Northern District of Illinois for hotel guests who had sued a motel chain owner claiming willful and wanton conduct under Illinois law in allowing hotel guests to be attacked by bedbugs. The hotel owner had appealed, primarily complaining about the punitive damages award.
In upholding the jury's verdict, Justice Posner found that the evidence was sufficient to show willful and wanton conduct given that bedbugs had been discovered in the hotel two years prior to the incident involving the plaintiffs. Additionally, the hotel should have either warned its guests or taken effective measures to eliminate the bedbugs.
