Hotel Cleveland Co. v. Wieners
Hotel Cleveland Co. v. Wieners
Opinion of the Court
This cause comes into this court on a petition in error to the municipal court of Cleveland, to reverse a judgment obtained in that court by Wieners against The Hotel Cleveland Company.
It will be necessary in order to understand the case, to recite briefly the facts:
Wieners 'became a guest at the defendant’s hotel, registered on November 17, 1919, and was assigned to a room. About five-thirty P. M., on November 19, being in a hurry to keep an appointment, he packed a large traveling bag, left it in his room, and went down to the hotel office to pay his bill at
About a half hour later, the same day, another guest registered at the hotel, and he was assigned this same room. The record shows that he was taken to the room by another bellboy, whereupon it was noticed by the bellboy that this valise, answering the description of Wiener’s valise, was in the room, and the boy said that he must call up and have it taken'out, whereupon the new guest said: “Why, that belongs to a friend of mine, and he and I are going to bunk here together tonight.” This was said although the bellboy came direct from the office with the key and let this man in; and even although he was a new party registering and being assigned to that room. The second bellboy did not
The question that first strikes us in this case is, Had the defendant in error ceased to be a guest? It is admitted frankly by counsel for plaintiff in error that if he was a guest, then what they had set up in their brief would not be pertinent, and the judgment of the court below was right. They urge, however, that he had ceased being a guest, and they cite us to Glenn v. Jackson, 93 Ala., 342, a case which seems to be on all fours with the instant case; but this case can readily be distinguished from it.
If the valise in the instant case had actually been taken by the bellboy under the directions of the porter, to the check-room, and the valise had been lost there, it would have been on all fours with the case of Glenn v. Jackson, supra, but it will be noted from the facts in this case that the valise never was taken from the room, and the order having been given by the porter to' have the valise brought down and placed in the check-room, until that was done it was still the property of a guest in the hotel, his
Taking this view of the case, it will not be necessary for us to consider the question of liability that would have existed if the relation of guest and innkeeper had ceased between these parties and that of bailor and bailee had been established.
It is argued with much force that even if the relation of bailor and bailee had been established, the evidence in the case showed that the innkeeper was guilty of gross neglect, and that in that event he would be liable for the loss of the goods of the bailor even though it was a gratuitous bailment; but in the case of Hotels Statler Co. v. Safier,
It is also claimed that the verdict is too high, as Section 5983, General Code, limits the liability of an innkeeper for lost goods to $50.
We do not think this statute applies in cases where the relation of innkeeper and guest exists. In the case of Palace Hotel v. Medart, 87 Ohio St., 130, citing from pages 135 and 136, the supreme court practically decided that this section was not intended to apply to personal property of the guest, other than money, jewelry, etc., .left by the guest in his sleeping room, but only to such goods as may be placed in the care of the innkeeper. We therefore are of the opinion that this verdict, and judgment thereon for two hundred dollars, were sustained by the evidence and are not contrary to law. The judgment will therefore be affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.