Bjorgolfsson v. Destination Boston Hotel, Inc.

21 Mass. L. Rptr. 419
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedAugust 28, 2006
DocketNo. 200501353E
StatusPublished

This text of 21 Mass. L. Rptr. 419 (Bjorgolfsson v. Destination Boston Hotel, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bjorgolfsson v. Destination Boston Hotel, Inc., 21 Mass. L. Rptr. 419 (Mass. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

Troy, Paul E., J.

This is a negligence action in which the plaintiff, Wilaiwan Bjorgolfsson (“Bjorgolfsson”), alleges that on April 9, 2004 she was assaulted and raped in a guestroom of a Boston, Massachusetts hotel operated by the co-defendant, Destination Boston Hotel, d/b/a Nine Zero Hotel (“Nine Zero”) by a former Nine Zero employee, MacArthur T. Belin, Jr. (“Belin”). Prior to the alleged sexual assault, the plaintiff was at a bar owned by the defendant, Bosworth Place, Inc., d/b/a/ Bean-town Pub (“Beantown Pub”), where she alleges she was negligently served alcohol after she was visibly intoxicated. This matter is before the Court on the motion of the defendant, Beantown Pub, forsummaiy judgmentunderMass.R.Civ.P. 56. Beantown Pub has moved for summary judgment on Count I (Negligence and Respondeat Superior). For the reasons discussed below, BeantownPub’s motion for summaiyj udgment is ALLOWED.

Background

Viewing the facts and reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the party opposing summary judgment, the plaintiff, the summary judgment record reflects the following. On April 9, 2004, the plaintiff went alone to Beantown Pub, arriving at approximately 11:00 p.m. Earlier in the evening, she drank two glasses of red wine with dinner at her home in Malden, Massachusetts. She testified that she felt no effects from the wine and had no difficulty driving from her apartment to Boston. At the bar, she met Roger Zeghibe (“Zeghibe”), the general manager of Beantown Pub and one-third shareholder in Bosworth Place, Inc. (“Bosworth"), the entity that owns Beantown Pub. Bjorgolfsson had at least one glass of red wine at the bar, but she could not remember how many glasses of wine she drank that night. However, she remembers that her glass was constantly full throughout the evening. She believed that Zeghibe was associated with Beantown Pub, as he ordered drinks without paying for them, walked behind the bar, and went into the employee-only area of the tavern. The plaintiff also believed that Zeghibe filled her glass with red wine throughout the night.

Bjorgolfsson and Zeghibe played pool in the rear section of Beantown Pub for over one hour. As the two played pool, the plaintiff began to feel more intoxicated and commented to Zeghibe about her level of intoxication. At some point in the evening, the plaintiff told Zeghibe she needed to go to the ladies room. She was in the women’s restroom for a short period and then decided to leave the bar because she knew she was intoxicated and wanted to avoid Zeghibe, who at some point in the evening expressed a sexual interest in her. Although she did not fall on her way out of the bar, she had trouble walking. She was too intoxicated to notice if there were any bouncers or security guards outside of Beantown Pub when she left.

The plaintiff then went to her car, which was parked in an alley between Beantown Pub and Nine Zero on the bar’s side of the street, relatively close to the entrance to the bar. She drove away but became concerned that she was too intoxicated to drive. She described feeling dizzy and drunk although she also stated that she was not confused and felt “clear headed.” She drove around the block and then back to the same spot where she had been parked before. The entire trip took approximately fifteen to thirty minutes. After she returned to the same parking spot, [420]*420Bjorgolfsson opened her car door and, while still sitting in the driver’s seat with her seatbelt on, vomited. After a short period of time, individuals surrounded the vehicle while the plaintiff continued vomiting, including Nine Zero and Beantown Pub employees, and at least one Beantown Pub patron. It is not clear whether Belin was one of the individuals around the vehicle.

One of the individuals that came out of the bar was Sean Daley (“Daley”), a Beantown Pub bartender. Daley came out to assist her and took the plaintiffs car keys, stating “We do not want you to drive.” He assisted her out of the driver’s seat of the car. As the plaintiff moved to the rear seat, she was stumbling and the individuals were having difficulty communicating with her because of her intoxicated state. A Nine Zero employee, Takayuki Shindo (“Shindo”), noticed the plaintiffs condition and ran back inside the hotel to get bottled water for Bjorgolfsson. During that time Daley helped the plaintiff into the back seat of her vehicle. He asked her where she lived so that he could send her home in a cab. The plaintiff stated that she did not want to take a cab.

As the plaintiff was lying face down in the back seat of her vehicle, Daley suggested that she stay the night at Nine Zero.2 The plaintiff contends that she stated she did not want to stay in the hotel and, since she did not know the people assisting her, she did not feel safe. She called 911 at 2:51 a.m. on April 10, 2004, and spoke with a police operator. She requested police assistance. However, before the police could arrive, the plaintiff was carried across the alley to the Nine Zero hotel lobby. It is not clear whether it was employees of Nine Zero, Beantown Pub, or both, who helped cany the plaintiff across the alley and into the lobby. However, once the plaintiff was inside the Nine Zero lobby, the Bean-town Pub employees left.

Bjorgolfsson contends at some point around this time, Belin then removed her wallet from her purse, without her consent, removed a credit card, and charged a room to the plaintiffs card, also without her consent. Although Nine Zero had a policy that forbade employees from checking in intoxicated persons during the overnight shift, Belin placed the plaintiff on a luggage cart in the lobby and checked her into the Hotel. Other than Belin and Shindo, the only other Nine Zero employee working at this time was Emanual Luma (“Luma”), the security officer on duty. The plaintiff contends that Shindo was the hotel supervisor at that time, a claim which Shindo denies. Shindo contends he was only a guest service agent with “no obligation to be of any authority” over other employees.

Belin then wheeled the luggage cart, with the plaintiff in it, to an elevator and up to Room 1103. The plaintiff now contends that there was no other Nine Zero employee present, which was in violation of Nine Zero’s policies and procedures.3 On the way to the room, the plaintiff contends that Belin looked at her and stated: “Let me see your face, look up, you are beautiful.” Upon arrival to Room 1103, Belin lifted Bjorgolfsson onto the bed. Bjorgolfsson contends that Belin then removed her clothing without her consent. Some time after this occurred, Shindo arrived at Room 1103. Shindo knocked on the door and heard the plaintiff say that she needed a trash can in which to vomit. Shindo continued to knock on the door without a response.

After several minutes Belin finally answered the door. The plaintiff was lying prone on the bed, she did not have her top on, and her pants had been removed. After finally leaving the room with Shindo, Belin admitted to Shindo that he had removed the plaintiffs clothing. Despite this behavior, which Shindo described in his deposition as “inappropriate,” he allowed Belin to again enter the plaintiffs room on at least two more occasions that evening. Over the course of the early morning hours of April 10, 2004, at least four entries to the plaintiffs room by hotel staff were recorded by the hotel’s electronic door lock system. The plaintiff contends that during one of these entries, Belin raped her.

The following morning, the plaintiff awoke at approximately 8:30 a.m. knowing that she had been raped.

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Bluebook (online)
21 Mass. L. Rptr. 419, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bjorgolfsson-v-destination-boston-hotel-inc-masssuperct-2006.