Syllabus by the Court.
Mrs
Nina D. Sturgis filed this action against the Henry Grady
Hotel Company, her petition as amended alleging as follows
"1. That petitioner in the widow of George B. Sturgis
deceased. 2. That defendant to this action for damages is the
Henry Grady Hotel Company, a corporation operating the Henry
Grady Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia, and within the jurisdiction of
this court. 3. That on January 7, 1939, George B. Sturgis
entered the Henry Grady Hotel, on Peachtree Street, Atlanta
Georgia, without baggage and sought to register as a guest in
said hotel; that said Sturgis had been drinking intoxicating
beverages and was in an ill and partly drunken condition at
said time, and that his appearance showed and reflected such
condition. 4. That J. T. Billingslea, the room clerk on duty
in said hotel at said time, because the said Sturgis did not
have any baggage, would not allow Sturgis to register until
his registration was approved by an assistant manager of the
hotel; and that Willis G. Poole, an assistant manager of said
hotel, did approve his registration, and the said Sturgis was
given a room on the seventh floor of said hotel and took
possession of same upon registering on January 7, 1939, as
stated. That at said time, which was January 7, 1939, the
room clerk, J. T. Billingslea, who was one of the clerks on
duty at the time the said Sturgis registered in the hotel,
and Willis G. Poole, an assistant manager of the hotel, were
employees and agents or servants of said defendant and were
acting within the scope of their authority; that Sturgis was
assigned to room 744 in said hotel upon registering.
Furthermore, that the said Sturgis was in an irrational
condition at the time he registered, and that this fact was
known to both the said Billingslea and Poole. 5. That shortly
after registration, Sturgis requested a bell boy, who had
shown him to his room, to get him some whiskey and to charge
same to his account, stating that he had no
money; but that the bell boy left the room and did not bring
the whiskey back as requested. That the name of the bell boy
was C. M. Brown; and that he was an employee of the defendant
and was acting for the defendant and within the scope of his
employment; that the said Brown knew that Sturgis was in an
irrational condition and immediately after showing Sturgis to
his room, upon registering, proceeded to the office of the
assistant manager, Willis G. Poole, and told him of
Sturgis' condition; and that Sturgis wanted the defendant
to cash his check for $25. 6. That on the evening of January
7, 1939, Sturgis called assistant manager Poole and requested
him to cash a check for $25, which was done, a portion of
which sum was applied to his room account and a portion of
which was given to Sturgis in cash, and immediately
thereafter Sturgis called a bell boy and had him deliver him
a bottle of whiskey. That the name of the bell boy referred
to is not known by defendant [plaintiff], but that he was one
of the regular bell boys employed by defendant, and went to
the room of Sturgis upon the latter's call to the service
office of the defendant, and that he went to the room of
Sturgis in the usual course and practice of this defendant
rendering the service of bell boys to its guests; that said
bell boy was an employee of defendant, acting as agent or
servant for defendant and acting within the scope of his
employment. 7. Petitioner shows that on January 8, 1939,
which was on a Sunday, Sturgis called for a bell boy, and J.
T. Sisk, one of the bell boys employed by defendant, answered
the call, and said bell boy returned to Sturgis' room
delivering him a pint of whiskey. That the said J. T. Sisk,
bell boy referred to in said paragraphs, was an employee and
agent or servant of defendant
and acting within the scope of his
employment as such. 8. That on the same date, January 8,
1939, at about 8 P. M., bell boy, J. T. Sisk, employee of
said defendant, again answered a call from Sturgis and at the
request of the latter left the room and returned in a few
minutes, bringing him another pint of whiskey. That the said
J. T. Sisk, bell boy referred to in said paragraphs, was an
employee and agent or servant of defendant and acting within
the scope of his employment as such. 9. Petitioner shows that
defendant employed as a house officer or house detective, one
C. W. Rushing, and a part of whose duty was to check the
various rooms at night and see that the doors were kept
locked and that on both nights of January 7 and January 8, 1939, the said Rushing found the door to the
room occupied by Sturgis unlocked and entered same and
requested Sturgis to lock the door from the inside; further,
that Rushing, on each night, upon entering the room, observed
that Sturgis was both ill and feeling bad effects from
excessive drinking and reported such condition to assistant
manager Poole. 10. On January 9, 1939, between 9 and 10
o'clock A. M. Sturgis again called for a bell boy, and
U.S. Cook, who was a bell boy employed by the defendant,
answered the call, and Sturgis requested him to get him a
pint of whiskey. Said Sturgis, at said time, was in an
irrational and bad physical and mental condition, and the
said bell boy seeing his condition, refused to get him any
whiskey, but the said bell boy did go to the assistant
manager of the defendant, Willis G. Poole, and told him of
the bad and irrational condition of the said Sturgis.
Petitioner shows that soon thereafter on the same day, the
said Poole communicated with the said Sturgis and had a talk
with him, at which time the said Sturgis was still in an
irrational and bad physical and mental condition and the said
Sturgis told the said Poole that he, Sturgis, wanted more
money to get some whiskey to drink. Petitioner shows that the
said Poole saw and knew of the said condition of Sturgis, but
in spite of such condition, Poole gave Sturgis $4 with which
to get more whiskey and then told Sturgis to bathe, get a
shave and get presentable to go home. Petitioner further
shows that the said Sturgis did procure additional whiskey
with the said $4 given him by Poole and that Sturgis'
physical and mental condition became progressively worse
until he was found dead as is hereinafter shown. Petitioner
further shows that the said U.S. Cook and the said Willis G.
Poole were, at all times herein stated, duly authorized
agents of the defendant and acting within the scope of their
employment. 11. That Sturgis returned to his room and no one
employed by defendant visited him in his room during the rest
of the day on January 9, 1939, until the night of the same
date. 12. That during the afternoon of January 9, 1939,
Sturgis went into the private bath adjoining his room and
proceeded to get into the tub to take a bath, and was ill at
the time and upon turning on the hot water both steam and
water rushed out of the pipe into the tub and upon the body
of Sturgis; and that the water was so hot that it was
scalding and Sturgis suffered severe burns; but before losing
consciousness shut off the faucet from which the water was
running and released the stopper from the
drain in the tub. 13. Petitioner shows that there was a
washer in or on...
