A woman who was staying at the Stamford Marriott was sexually assaulted at gunpoint in front of her 3 and 5 year old children in the hotel's parking garage. Marriott's defense?
[the victim] failed to exercise due care for her own safety and the safety of her children and proper use of her senses and facilities
Even worse corporate BS after the jump.
Case Detail can be found here.
According to the article in the Stamford Advocate, the victim walked into the garage with her two young children and was accosted at gunpoint by a man who had been loitering on the property. He forced her and the children into her vehicle where he stripped her, assaulted her, and threatened to do the same to one of her children. When another hotel guest came into the garage, the victim screamed and her rapist ran off. He was later caught and convicted of the crime.
The victim filed the lawsuit as Jane Doe but Marriott, instead of quietly paying for the woman's medical care and a lifetime of counseling for her and her traumatized children, is now making sure that everyone she knows has all the facts.
The hotel also subpoenaed several people involved with the family, including a Pilates instructor, friends, tennis partners and the children's baby sitter. The woman's attorneys argue the individuals subpoenaed do not know anything about the attack, that the subpoenas inadvertently identified her to those people and that it was merely an effort by the hotel's attorneys to intimidate her.
Yes, that's right. Part of their defense involves outing the victim publicly as a rape victim to family, friends, and casual acquaintances. If you are a woman or if you just love and respect them, you may want to think twice before supporting a corporation who thinks this is the appropriate way to respond to a lawsuit for a proven crime that occurred in their facilities.
If that's the case, know that the Marriott brand includes the following hotels:
Fairfield Inn
Renaissance Hotels & Resorts
Ritz-Carlton
Bulgari Hotels & Resorts
Residence Inn
Courtyard
SpringHill Suites
TownePlace Suites
You may also want to let Marriott know how you feel about their legal tactics:
Marriott contact page
President and CEO is J.W. (Bill) Marriott
Phone number is (301) 380-3000
Corporate address via snail mail is
Marriott International, Inc.
10400 Fernwood Road
Bethesda, MD 20817