CA: Hotel Owner’s Duty to Children in Multi-Story Buildings

A family with a 5-year-old son was staying in a second-floor room at a hotel in La Jolla.  The mother had asked for a ground-floor room, but none were available.  The family opened the window to hear the ocean.  While they were distracted, their son pushed through the screen, fell to the ground, and suffered serious injuries.  The hotel had safety bars in many of the windows, including other windows in the same  room, but not at the particular window through which the child fell. 

The parents filed suit alleging premises liability.  The hotel filed a motion for summary judgment and the trial court granted it.  The Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District reversed.  The court held the hotel had failed to carry the burden on summary judgment that it had no duty.  The court found such an incident was reasonably foreseeable and, in the process, indicated that compliance with building codes was essentially irrelevant.  The opinion is here.  JD Supra comments here.