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Negligent Security Seminar | March 2015

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Confidential settlement – hotel guest raped in room (Orlando) starstarstarstarstar

Rape is a crime of violence that forever changes the life of someone who is victimized.  At Leighton Law we recognize that victim-centered representation includes a need to understand what our clients have been through and will go through the rest of their lives.

A businesswoman attending a convention at a major resort hotel was raped inside her room while she slept.  The woman and her roommate, another co-worker, had returned from a convention dinner event where there was a lot of drinking. They then went to bed. They believed their hotel room door was closed. This was the kind of self-closing door found in all hotels.

Another guest attending the same convention and staying in the hotel was intoxicated and was walking along the hallway where they were staying.  He was seen on security cameras pushing on doors.  When he pushed on the door where these two women were staying, the door opened.  He entered, got into bed with our client, and had unconsented sex with her.  When he was discovered he quickly left the room.  Security was called and the drunken guest was apprehended (and ultimately convicted of sexual battery and imprisoned).

John Leighton was hired and retained investigators and forensic engineers to evaluate the safety and security of the resort.  Testing of the hotel room door revealed that the self-latching mechanism that automatically closes hotel room doors was not operating correctly.  The door would close so it appeared latched but it would not fully latch.  The hotel had  committed several errors.  First, they failed to properly maintain their door, which is a violation of codes and standards.  Second, they had over-served the man alcoholic beverages so he was intoxicated.  Third, they failed to take any action after he was seen (or should have been seen by security) pushing in guest room doors.  This all resulted in a devastating rape.  Mr. Leighton obtained a confidential settlement on behalf of the victim of this terrible crime.

Leighton Law is committed to providing victim-centered representation of survivors of sexual assault and rape.


Disclaimer: The information about past verdicts and settlements of the firm’s cases are based on the unique facts of each case. These amounts reflect the gross recovery in each case (before attorneys fees, expenses and medical costs are deducted). Although these results were obtained by our firm, they may not indicate the success or value of any other case as each case is unique. By clicking on Verdicts and Settlements you are acknowledging that every case is different and each case must be evaluated on its own merits. The information contained here has not been reviewed or approved by The Florida Bar.