Vaidik, C.J.
Case Summary
While Maurice Johnson was a guest at Blue Chip Casino Hotel Spa in Michigan City, he woke up to discover bed-bug bites on his right arm. Johnson brought a small-claims action against Blue Chip Casino, LLC, and the court entered judgment in favor of Blue Chip. Johnson now appeals, arguing that the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur applies to this case. Because Johnson has failed to prove that the presence of bed bugs in his hotel room more probably resulted from Blue Chip’s negligence as opposed to another cause, we affirm the small-claims court’s judgment in favor of Blue Chip.
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Johnson argues that the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur applies to this case. Res ipsa loquitur is translated from Latin as “the thing speaks for itself.”…
Even assuming that Blue Chip maintained exclusive control over Room 1253 once Johnson and his wife checked in, Johnson has failed to prove that the presence of bed bugs in his hotel room on January 1 or 2, 2017, more probably resulted from Blue Chip’s negligence as opposed to another cause. Bed bugs are small bugs that “hide during the day in places such as seams of mattresses, box springs, bed frames, headboards, dresser tables, inside cracks and crevices, behind wallpaper, or any other clutter or objects around a bed.” Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Bed Bugs FAQs, https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/bedbugs/faqs.html. Because bed bugs are a problem for hotels, Blue Chip developed policies and procedures for inspecting and treating hotel rooms for them. Luna testified that housekeepers are trained on bed bugs and look for evidence of bed bugs each time a room is cleaned, including stripping the beds to look at the mattresses and looking in “the nooks and crannies” of the rooms.
Johnson argues, however, that “bed bugs and bed bug shells are not usually found in hotel beds unless the hotel’s cleaning procedures f[a]ll below the reasonable standard.” Appellant’s Br. p. 11. His argument assumes that he would not have woken up to bed-bug bites if the housekeepers had done a better job cleaning and/or inspecting his room. But because of the hidden nature of bed bugs, it is entirely possible that a more thorough cleaning and inspection would not have discovered or eliminated the bed bugs. Johnson has thus failed to prove that the presence of bed bugs in his hotel room on January 1 or 2, 2017, more probably resulted from Blue Chip’s negligence as opposed to another cause. See Cergnul, 785 N.E.2d at 332 (concluding that the plaintiff failed to satisfy the requirements of the res ipsa loquitur doctrine: “it is axiomatic that stair railings can become loose and fall through no negligence on the part of a landowner. For instance, a screw behind the wall could have fractured or another guest could have vandalized the railing just before Cergnul used it. Moreover, the evidence showed that neither the Super 8’s manager nor any of the hotel employees experienced any difficulties with the railing prior to Cergnul’s fall.”).
Johnson argues that even if the res ipsa loquitur doctrine does not apply, Blue Chip is liable under premises liability. As a hotel guest, Johnson was an invitee of Blue Chip…
Here, the small-claims court found that Johnson failed to prove that Blue Chip had either actual or constructive knowledge that bed bugs were present in Room 1253 on January 1 or January 2, 2017, Appellant’s App. Vol. II p. 8, and the record supports this finding. According to Luna, Blue Chip did not have actual knowledge that there were bed bugs in Room 1253 on January 1 or 2 until Johnson called guest services to report them.
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The record also reflects that not only did Blue Chip have bed-bug policies and procedures in place in January 2017, but Blue Chip followed them as well. That is, about two months before Johnson checked into Room 1253 at Blue Chip, on November 4, 2016, bed bugs were found in the same room. At that time, Terminix “inspected and treated the room and held [it] out of service until . . . November 11, 201[6].” Tr. p. 35. From November 11, 2016, until January 2, 2017, Blue Chip did not receive any other complaints of bed bugs in Room 1253 even though the room was rented during that time. Id. Accordingly, the small-claims court did not err in determining that Johnson failed to prove that Blue Chip had actual or constructive knowledge that bed bugs were present in Room 1253 on January 1 or 2, 2017. We therefore affirm the small-claims court’s judgment in favor of Blue Chip.
Affirmed.
Riley, J., and Kirsch, J., concur.