Henry Grady Hotel Co. v. Sturgis

• Decision Date: 04 December 1943
• Docket Number: 30230.
• Citation: Henry Grady Hotel Co. v. Sturgis, 70 Ga.App. 379, 28 S.E.2d 329 (Ga. App. 1943)
• Parties: HENRY GRADY HOTEL CO. v. STURGIS.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

28 S.E.2d 329

70 Ga.App. 379

HENRY GRADY HOTEL CO. v. STURGIS.

No. 30230.

Court of Appeals of Georgia, Division No. 2.

December 4, 1943

Rehearing Denied Dec. 17, 1943.

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 the faucet where the water came into the tub that was...