Gingeleskie v. Westin Hotel Co.

961 F. Supp. 1310, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6085, 1997 WL 202099
CourtDistrict Court, D. Arizona
DecidedMarch 14, 1997
DocketCIV 95-014 PHX-PGR
StatusPublished

This text of 961 F. Supp. 1310 (Gingeleskie v. Westin Hotel Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gingeleskie v. Westin Hotel Co., 961 F. Supp. 1310, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6085, 1997 WL 202099 (D. Ariz. 1997).

Opinion

ORDER

ROSENBLATT, District Judge.

I. BACKGROUND

On May 9, 1994, Joseph Gingeleskie (“Gin-geleskie”) traveled from his home in New Jersey to Phoenix, Arizona, in order to attend a national sales meeting offered by his employer, Bristol-Myers Clairol. Gingele-skie stayed at Defendant Arizona Biltmore Hotel (“Hotel”). Gingeleskie participated in several pre-seminar activities with co-employees, including attending an early-bird reception, playing in several outdoor basketball games, and attending an early evening cocktail party. Gingeleskie called home to New Jersey at approximately 4:42 p.m.; Gingele-skie did not tell his children he was feeling ill, nor did his children detect that Gingele-skie was ill.

Gingeleskie left the cocktail party 1 , which was scheduled from 5:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m., and approached the front desk of the Hotel. Gingeleskie had the following conversation with Suzanne Malcolm, a member of the Hotel staff:

Q. And Mr. Gingeleskie approached the front desk?
A. Yes, he did.
Q. And can you tell us what happened?
A When he approached the front desk, he asked me if there was a medical facility on the property. I told him no, there was not, and I asked if he was all right. He replied that he did not feel well. I then told him there was a medical walk-in, as well as an emergency room close by, that ExecuCar would take him there if he would like. He seemed to consider that for a moment, decided to go to the emergency room.

See Deposition of Suzanne Malcolm, pg. 26, Appendix M in support of Westin Hotel’s Motion for Summary Judgment.

Ms. Malcolm then summoned a bellman, Joe Thomas, to direct Gingeleskie to the front door, where an ExecuCar limousine was waiting. As Gingeleskie approached the front door, Justin Stark, the Hotel’s Manager of Guest Services, greeted Gingeleskie and asked him how he was. Gingeleskie replied that he was “not feeling too well”. Stark said he was sorry to hear that. Stark did not notice anything unusual about Gingeleskie’s appearance.

*1313 Gingeleskie then entered a limousine owned by Defendant ExecuCar and driven by Defendant Vern Smith (“Smith”). Thomas asked Smith to take Gingeleskie to Heal-thwest Regional Medical Center, now known as Columbia Medical Center. According to Smith’s log, the trip began at 5:35 p.m. Smith greeted Gingeleskie and, not noticing anything wrong with Gingeleskie, asked him if he was picking someone up at the hospital. Gingeleskie responded by stating that he was “not feeling well.” During the majority of the trip to the hospital, Smith contends that Gingeleskie appeared fine.

Smith drove west on Missouri Avenue to 20th Street, then south on 20th Street to Highland. Smith then drove east and entered the Squaw Peak freeway. While stopped at a traffic light before entering the Squaw Peak, Gingeleskie asked Smith how much longer it would take. Smith said it would take another 4-6 minutes to get through the light. Gingeleskie said nothing further.

After entering the Squaw Peak, Smith exited at the Thomas Road exit. The trip took approximately two minutes. Just before turning onto the off-ramp, Smith heard Gin-geleskie moan and fall over in the back seat. Smith then sped the remainder of the distance to the hospital, one block away. Smith ran a red light and flashed his lights in order to avoid any delays in getting Gingeleskie to the hospital.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Smith rushed inside and informed staff that he had a passenger in need of medical assistance. Hospital staff came out to the limousine and took Gingeleskie into the hospital. At 5:48 p.m., hospital staff began administering CPR. Medical treatment continued until 6:11 p.m., when Gingeleskie was pronounced dead. The hospital informed the Hotel of Gingele-skie’s death at 6:40 p.m. The autopsy report concluded that Gingeleskie died of a sudden heart attack. The report also revealed that Gingeleskie’s right coronary artery was 95% occluded, his left anterior descending branch was 90% occluded and his left circumflex artery was 80% occluded. No one — including Gingeleskie’s family and physicians— knew of Gingeleskie’s serious heart disease.

Upon learning that Gingeleskie had died, the Hotel security staff filed a routine incident report. The security staff interviewed several people, including Ms. Malcolm. When interviewed, Ms. Malcolm stated that Gingeleskie may have been pale, and that he had some sweat on his forehead. Outside of these observations, Gingeleskie appeared normal and in no distress.

Gingeleskie’s widow (hereinafter “Plaintiff’), individually and as executrix of Gin-geleskie’s estate, brought an action in the Morris County Superior Court in the State of New Jersey. That action was removed by Defendant Hotel. Thereafter, the parties agreed to transfer the matter to this Court.

Plaintiff filed an amended complaint on May 17, 1995, naming Hotel, Supershuttle of Arizona 2 , and Yern Smith 3 and his wife as Defendants. Plaintiff asserts claims for wrongful death, expenses 4 and loss of consortium.

On May 31,1996, Defendants Supershuttle and Smith filed a Motion for Summary Judgment; Plaintiff filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment; and Defendant Hotel filed a Motion for Summary Judgment. All three motions were fully briefed and oral arguments were heard on the motions on December 2,1996.

II. DISCUSSION

A Standard

Summary judgment may be granted if the movant shows that “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of *1314 law.” Rule 56(c), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Summary judgment is proper if the non-moving party fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an essential element of his case on which he will bear the burden of proof at trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The disputed fact(s) must be material. Id.

Substantive law determines which facts are material. “Only disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

Moreover, the dispute must be genuine. A dispute about a material fact is genuine if “the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.”

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Bluebook (online)
961 F. Supp. 1310, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6085, 1997 WL 202099, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gingeleskie-v-westin-hotel-co-azd-1997.