Schwartz v. Hilton Hotels Corp., Civil Action No. 07-3225 (KSH).

• Decision Date: 30 June 2009
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 07-3225 (KSH).
• Citation: 639 F.Supp.2d 467
• Parties: Phyllis SCHWARTZ, Plaintiff, v. HILTON HOTELS CORPORATION; Hilton Hhonors Worldwide, L.L.C., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey

639 F.Supp.2d 467

Phyllis SCHWARTZ, Plaintiff, v. HILTON HOTELS CORPORATION; Hilton Hhonors Worldwide, L.L.C., Defendants.

Civil Action No. 07-3225 (KSH).

United States District Court, D. New Jersey.

June 30, 2009.

Nicholas J. Leonardis, Stathis & Leonardis, LLC, Edison, NJ, for Plaintiff.

Lori S. Kahn, Thomas M. Smith, Kardaras & Kelleher, LLP, New York, NY, for Defendants.

OPINION

KATHARINE S. HAYDEN, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This matter comes before the Court upon defendants' motion for summary judgment [D.E. # 24]. Plaintiff Phyllis Schwartz alleges in this personal injury action that she was the victim of negligent maintenance of the shower in her Athens, Greece hotel room in 2006. Compl. ¶¶ 1-12.¹ In a previous order, the Court dismissed defendants Hilton Hellas, EPE ("Hellas") and Ionian Hotel Enterprises, S.A. ("Ionian") (collectively, the "Greek entities") from the case for want of personal jurisdiction [D.E. # 21]. The remaining defendants—Hilton Hotels Corporation ("HHC") and its wholly owned subsidiary, Hilton HHonors Worldwide L.L.C. ("HHR") (collectively, "defendants")—now argue that they owed no duty to Schwartz because they did not own, possess, control, operate, maintain, or manage the premises where she suffered the injury. Schwartz has not rebutted these facts, instead arguing that defendants owed her a duty of reasonable care due to their status as agents of the Greek entities.

For the reasons that follow, the Court disagrees with plaintiff's position and concludes the following: (1) because defendants had no ownership or control over the hotel premises, they owed no duty to Schwartz—based on their relationship with the Greek entities—to ensure that the property was free from hazardous conditions; and (2) to the extent defendants owed an independent duty to Schwartz because they booked her trip with the Greek entities, the particular injury she suffered was not reasonably foreseeable, and thus defendants had no duty to prevent or warn of it. On this undisputed record, the defendants are not liable to plaintiff as a matter of law, and their motion is granted.

II. FACTS, PROCEDURAL HISTORY, & JURISDICTION²

The facts of this slip and fall case are uncomplicated. HHC is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in California. Affidavit of Ted C. Raynor ("Raynor Aff.") ¶ 3. It owns 100% of the stock of Hilton International Co. ("HIC"), which in turn owns 100% of the stock of former-defendant Hellas, a Greek corporation. Raynor Aff. ¶¶ 11-12. HHC is also the corporate parent of HHR, which was formed under the laws of Delaware, and has its headquarters in California.³ Raynor Aff. ¶ 18; Affidavit of Cindy Baker ("Baker Aff.") ¶ 2. Neither HHC nor HHR owned, operated, managed, maintained, or controlled the Hilton Athens Hotel premises at any time relevant here. Defendants' R. 56.1 Statement of Material Facts ("Def. Facts") ¶¶ 10-16; Raynor Aff. ¶¶ 4-10; Baker Aff. ¶ 4. Instead, Ionian, an independent Greek entity, owned the hotel, and contracted with Hellas to manage the property and day-to-day hotel operations. Def. Facts ¶¶ 8-9; Raynor Aff. ¶¶ 13-14.

Schwartz is a "Gold VIP" member of the Hilton HHonors rewards program ("HHonors program") run by HHR. Compl. ¶ 4; Certification of Nicholas J. Leonardis ("Leonardis Cert.") Ex. B. The HHonors program gives its members rewards points and mileage for reservations made at hotels within the Hilton chain. Compl. ¶ 3. After she had accumulated sufficient rewards points, Schwartz put in a rewards redemption request to HHR, and on October 5, 2005 she received an e-mail from the HHonors program granting her "three free nights at any category 3 property." Leonardis Cert. Ex. C. On May 22, 2006, Schwartz reserved a room at the Hilton Athens Hotel—which qualified as a category 3 property—from May 29, 2006 to June 1, 2006. Compl. ¶ 5; Leonardis Cert. Ex. C.

Schwartz alleges that on May 30, 2006, she entered the bathroom of her hotel room, slipped on a puddle of water on the floor, and broke her leg. Compl. ¶ 7; Leonardis Ex. E. She claims that a leak in the shower area of the bathroom caused water to leak onto the floor, creating a hazardous condition and, ultimately, her fall. Compl. ¶¶ 7; Leonardis Cert. Ex. D. She filed a two-count complaint in Middlesex County Superior Court on May 28, 2007.⁴ In it, Schwartz asserts that the Greek entities were responsible for the "maintenance, inspection, supervision, management, cleaning, caring, construction, and/or repair of the Hilton Athens Hotel"; that they were negligent in carrying out those responsibilities; and that HHC and HHR are vicariously liable as a result. Compl. ¶¶ 8-9. Defendants timely removed the case to this Court on diversity grounds [D.E. # 1]. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1441, 1332. Upon motion by the Greek entities, Magistrate Judge Patty Shwartz issued a Report & Recommendation ("R & R") on July 29, 2008, recommending that they be dismissed pursuant to Rule 12(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure [D.E. # 19]. The Court adopted the R & R without objection from plaintiff on August 18, 2008 [D.E. # 21]. This motion followed.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

"A party seeking to recover upon a claim ... may ... move with or without supporting affidavits for a summary judgment in the party's favor upon all or any part thereof." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). However, the judgment sought shall be rendered only if "there is no genuine issue of material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Id. at (c). When a party moves for summary judgment, the non-moving party must then provide "specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). An issue is genuine where "the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the non-moving party." Fowle v. C & C Cola, 868 F.2d 59, 61 (3d Cir.1989) (internal citations omitted). To determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial, "all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in" the favor of the non-movant. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Gray v. York Newspapers, 957 F.2d 1070, 1078 (3d Cir.1992). Therefore, the Court may not grant defendants' summary judgment motion if there is sufficient evidence to allow a reasonable jury to return a verdict for Schwartz, see Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, or if the factual dispute is one "that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law ...." Id.

IV. DISCUSSION

A. Applicable Law

Though the parties do not discuss choice of law, the Court sits in diversity and must first determine what substantive law applies, using New Jersey's choice of law principles. See Moran v. DaVita, Inc., No. 06-5620, 2009 WL 792074, at *8, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22951, at *27 (D.N.J. Mar. 23, 2009) (quoting Echols v. Pelullo, 377 F.3d 272, 275 (3d Cir.2004) (in turn citing Klaxon Co. v. Stentor Electric Mfg. Co., 313 U.S. 487, 497, 61 S.Ct. 1020, 85 L.Ed. 1477 (1941))). "Before a choice of law question arises, however, there must actually be a conflict between the potentially applicable bodies of law." Lucker Mfg. v. Home Ins. Co., 23 F.3d 808, 813 (3d Cir.1994). The "initial prong" of the New Jersey choice of law analysis similarly "entails an inquiry into whether there is an actual conflict" of substantive law. Gantes v. Kason Corp., 145 N.J. 478, 484, 679 A.2d 106 (1996). "If there is no actual conflict, then the choice-of-law question is inconsequential, and the forum state applies its own law to resolve the disputed issue." Rowe v. Hoffman-La Roche, Inc., 189 N.J. 615, 621, 917 A.2d 767 (2007), overruled in part, P.V. ex rel. T.V. v. Camp Jaycee, 197 N.J. 132, 962 A.2d 453 (2008).⁵

The parties do not assert that any conflict of law exists, do not speak of Greek tort law in their briefs, have submitted no information concerning Greece is substantive law, and certainly do not advocate for its application. As it turns out, the law of negligence in Greece is sufficiently similar to New Jersey's such that no conflict arises under the facts presented. Compare Sealord Marine Co. v. Am. Bureau of Shipping, 220 F.Supp.2d 260, 272-73 (S.D.N.Y.2002) (enumerating and describing elements of Greek tort law as governed by article 914 of the Greek Civil Code: (1) an act (or omission) of a person; (2) that is unlawful (i.e., that violates a general duty of safety and care); (c) negligence (or intent) on the part of the actor; (d) damages; and (e) an adequate causative link between the act (or omission) and the damage suffered); Carbotrade S.p.A. v. Bureau Veritas, No. 92-1459, 1998 WL 397847, at *5-6, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10575, at *17-20 (S.D.N.Y. Jul. 13, 1998) (same) with Polzo v. County of Essex, 196 N.J. 569, 584, 960 A.2d 375 (2008) (common law negligence action requires a plaintiff to "prove four core elements: (1)[a] duty of care, (2) a breach of that duty, (3) proximate cause, and (4) actual damages") (internal citations and quotations omitted). Thus, the Court applies the substantive law of New Jersey.

B. Analysis

Not subject to dispute are the core principles of law applicable here, which are expounded in the Restatement (Second) of Torts (1965) ("Second Restatement of Torts") and the Restatement (Third) of Agency (2005) ("Third Restatement of Agency"); these compilations have been adopted by New Jersey courts. See Parks v. Rogers, 176 N.J. 491, 498-99, 825 A.2d 1128 (2003) (discussing cases and the Second Restatement of Torts); NCP Litig. Trust v. KPMG LLP, 187 N.J. 353, 366-67, 901 A.2d 871 (2006) (discussing the Third Restatement of Agency). With respect to premises liability, the Second Restatement of Torts sets forth the following standard:

A possessor of land is subject to liability for...