Rocoff v. Lancella

251 N.E.2d 582, 145 Ind. App. 440, 1969 Ind. App. LEXIS 406
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 14, 1969
Docket20599
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 251 N.E.2d 582 (Rocoff v. Lancella) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rocoff v. Lancella, 251 N.E.2d 582, 145 Ind. App. 440, 1969 Ind. App. LEXIS 406 (Ind. Ct. App. 1969).

Opinion

Cooper, J.

This is an appeal from the LaPorte Circuit Court wherein the plaintiff-appellee filed a complaint against the appellants for damages for alleged personal injuries sustained by him while he was a registered, paying guest in a hotel owned and operated by the appellants.

The appellee’s complaint alleged, in substance, that the appellee was a paying guest of the Batchelor Hotel which was owned by the appellants; that for a long' time the hotel guests *442 had commonly used a stairway to reach the roof of the hotel to take sun baths and to enjoy fresh air; that on July 24, 1959, the plaintiff, intending to go to the roof for sunshine and fresh air, proceeded to climb the stairs which led to the roof; upon reaching the second step from the top, the step broke and collapsed, causing the plaintiff to fall to the floor below; that the plaintiff was seriously and permanently injured in that he received severe injuries to his head, neck and back.

The complaint alleged that the appellants were negligent in six particulars, to-wit: (1) Careless and negligent erection and maintenance of the stairway; (2) carelessly and negligently permitting the stairway to become dangerous and unsafe, weatherbeaten, rotten and insecure; (3) that appellants knew or should have known of the dangerous condition of the stairway; (4) failure to reconstruct or repair the stairway to a reasonably safe condition; (5) failure to make a reasonable inspection of the stairway; and (6) failure to post any warning signs that the stairway was in a dangerous and unsafe condition.

The appellants filed an answer in compliance with Rule 1-3 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Indiana. The cause thus being at issue, trial was had to a jury which returned a verdict for the plaintiff in the sum of $23,700, and judgment was entered thereon. Thereafter, the appellants filed a motion for new trial which was overruled and this appeal followed.

The appellants’ assigned error on appeal is that the trial court erred in overruling the appellants’ motion for a new trial.

The first cause for a new trial discussed in the appellants’ brief is that the “Verdict of the jury is not sustained by sufficient evidence.”

*443 *442 The general rule concerning such cause for a new trial is, that in reviewing the evidence to determine its sufficiency, the *443 Appellate Court will look only to that evidence most favorable to the appellee and the reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom. Butler v. Forker (1966), 139 Ind. App. 602, 221 N. E. 2d 570, 575; Isenhour v. Speece, Admr., et al. (1958), 238 Ind. 293, 296, 150 N. E. 2d 749.

In addition, when the sufficiency of the evidence is questioned on appeal, this court does not weigh the evidence, but reviews the record to see if there is any evidence, or any reasonable or logical inferences which may be drawn therefrom, which, if believed by the jury, would sustain the verdict. Gamble et al. v. Lewis (1949), 227 Ind. 455, 460, 85 N. E. 2d 629; Indiana Ins. Co. v. Handlon (1940), 216 Ind. 442, 24 N. E. 2d 1003.

Appéllants contend, in substance, that the plaintiff was not a guest of the Batchelor Hotel, but rather was a tenant, because he had lived in the same room and had paid $30.00 per month for rent for a period of two years prior to the date of the injury.

After reviewing the testimony contained in the record, we .cannot agree with this contention. The evidence in this cause concerning whether the plaintiff was a paying guest or a tenant in the hotel was conflicting. The evidence shows that the hotel building displayed an exterior sign bearing the inscription “HOTEL.” In addition, the Batchelor Hotel maintained a guest register book, and provided maid service for the entire building.

In the case of Buck v. Del City Apartments, Inc. (1967) (Okla.), 431 P. 2d 360, 363, the Oklahoma Supreme Court was presented with a similar question, wherein that Court stated:

“The chief distinction between a tenant and an innkeeper’s guest lies in the element of possession. A tenant is deemed to have exclusive legal possession of the demised premises and stands responsible for their .care and condition. A guest, on the other hand, has *444 merely a right to the use of the premises while the innkeeper retains his control over them, is responsible for the necessary care and attention and retains the right of access for such purposes. Modem law tends to regard as a guest anyone who is a patron of the inn as such, and receives the same treatment as that accorded to short-term guests. Leon v. Kitchen Bros. Hotel Co., 134 Neb. 137, 277 N. W. 823, 115 A.L.R. 1078; Cottmire v. 181 East Lake Shore Drive Hotel Corp., 330 Ill. App. 549, 71 N. E. 2d 823; See Tenant, Lodger and Guest, 64 Yale L.J. 391, 396.”

See also, 145 A.L.R. 633, and authorities cited therein.

The Court then continued by setting out certain characteristics used to distinguish a guest from a tenant as follows:

“The status of a patron upon the premises as a tenant or as a guest is to be determined, inter alia, from the terms of the contract between the parties; the character of the premises; the nature of the business operated upon them; the extent of the control or supervision maintained by the proprietor or possessor over the premises; the manner the premises are operated; the character of the part occupied by the patron; and the character of use to which the premises are generally adapted and devoted. Marden v . Radford, 229 Mo. App. 789, 84 S. W. 2d 947.
“The operation and management of the property as a motel under a license from the state and its advertising as a motel by the display of a highway sign afford a proper basis for the inference that the patron of the establishment is a guest. Harden v. Radford, supra. One who maintains a motel for the purpose of furnishing lodging accommodations to the public sustains to his occupants the relation of innkeeper. Crockett v. Troyk, Tex. Civ. App., 78 S. W. 2d 1012. 29 Am. Jur., Innkeepers, Sec. 28, p. 26.
“Neither the length of the stay nor the fact that payment for the accommodation is made at a fixed rate per week rather than per day and that for the time the hotel may be the patron’s only home precludes him from occupying the status of a guest in relation to the hotel establishment. Levesque v. Columbia Hotel, 141 Me. 393, 44 A. 2d 728; Driskill Hotel Co. v. Anderson, Tex Civ. App, 19 S. W. 2d 216; Hart v. Mills Hotel Trust, 144 Misc. 121, 258 N.Y.S. 417; 29 Am. Jur., Innkeepers, Sec. 21, p.

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Bluebook (online)
251 N.E.2d 582, 145 Ind. App. 440, 1969 Ind. App. LEXIS 406, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rocoff-v-lancella-indctapp-1969.