Booted guest can sue hotel in New York

A New York City hotel may come to regret kicking out a guest last New Year's Eve who had spent $4,000 on two rooms to celebrate the holiday.

A federal judge has ruled that the guest, Jeffrey Dagen, can pursue a $750,000 lawsuit against the Marriott Marquis in Times Square on the grounds that innkeepers have a duty to provide safe harbor for their guests.

U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Kahn found that the hotel could be negligent for giving Dagen the boot when hotel officials knew Dagen lived 165 miles upstate in Latham, had been drinking alcohol served to him by the hotel and had little chance of finding another room in the city that night.

"It was entirely foreseeable that (Dagen's) next stop after being kicked out of the hotel wasn't going to be on the set with Dick Clark filming New York's Rockin' Eve," Kahn wrote in a Dec. 18 ruling. "Common sense and common courtesy hold that innkeepers are expected to shelter those who have sought their protection, and … not to inject those people into obviously dangerous situations."

The lawsuit, which claims breach of contract and negligence, is being watched closely by the hotel industry because the judge rejected Marriott's efforts to have the suit dismissed. Marriott argued that Dagen — who was kicked out of the hotel on the first night of a planned two-night stay — chose to drive home and that Marriott was under no obligation to protect him from his own behavior.

Joe McInerney, president of the American Hotel and Lodging Association, said his organization does not keep statistics on hotel evictions, but that they are not uncommon — especially during holiday celebrations, weddings, conventions or proms.

Details of the Marriott incident are described vaguely in court papers. Dagen arrived on Dec. 31, 2005, and got two rooms, one for himself and one for a friend who brought a date, the papers say.

Sometime after 9 p.m., the friend's date was found unconscious in the hallway, court papers say. Police and paramedics were called. A hotel official said in an affidavit he was advised the woman had been involved in an altercation with Dagen's guest.

Shortly before midnight, Dagen and the rest of his party were evicted. The hotel did not refund his $4,000. Dagen told hotel managers he had been drinking, that he had nowhere else to go and was too tired to drive home, court papers say.

On his way home, Dagen's car left a highway and struck a tree. His leg was broken and he suffered chest injuries. He was not cited for driving under the influence, said Richard Feirstein, his attorney.

Tom Marder, a Marriott spokesman, declined to comment about the incident. He said the hotel "acted responsibly in the interest of all its guests."