Hospitality Law Legal Questions

It depends to an extent on the language of your agreement with the hotel.  Almost all hotels have a clause in their agreement concerning damage to the room during a Guest's stay.  Typical language makes the Guest liable for damage caused intentionally or negligently by the Guest, but some are broader and might include a family member of the Guest or another person visiting the Guest at the hotel.In the absence of an agreement, which is unlikely, you would not be liable for damage caused by your ADULT daughter or by your daughter if she was under 10 years of age.  Your adult daughter would be liable for such damage.  Under the Texas Family Code, you would be liable for damage caused by your daughte if she was 10-17 years of age up to $25,000 if your daughter's conduct was wilful and malicious (which is what it sounds like from your question).... Read More

I think that would be a highly speculative lawsuit which would not be cost-effective to pursue given the likely very limited compensatory damages.I think it would be relatively easy to brush ants off of any truly valuable belongings like jewelry, watches, or cell phones, and that the cumulative value of less expensive possessions like clothing would be a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.  It may also be difficult to persuade a jury that the time and cost to shake or brush the ants off these less expensive items would be so great as to justify throwing them all away.  Given that a simple lawsuit for damages could easily cost $50,000 and take two years, and that a speculative one like this would likely cost more and take longer, I would counsel against expending that money with the hope of recovering a few hundred or few thousand dollars for some discarded possessions and the price of a hotel room.... Read More