IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON COUNTY OF MULTNOMAH

Transcription

1 // :: PM CV0 1 1 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON ESTATE OF JUNE SYLVIA COLE, Plaintiff, vs. V AND W INVESTMENTS, LLC, Defendant. COUNTY OF MULTNOMAH 1. Case No. COMPLAINT (Wrongful Death (Claim Not Subject to Mandatory Arbitration (Jury Trial Requested Fee Authority: ORS.0(1(d Claim Amount: $,,000 Plaintiff is the duly-appointed personal representative of the Estate of June Sylvia Cole ("Decedent", which is to be probated in Multnomah County, Oregon, as Case No. PB0. The date of Plaintiff's appointment as personal representative was December,. Venue for the probate case is established in Multnomah County because the decedent died in that County. Page 1- COMPLAINT. W. Historic Columbia River Highway Telephone: (0-00 Facsimile (0-0

2 1 Plaintiff s Personal Representative is the natural daughter of Decedent. The Personal Representative is among the heirs of Decedent according to the law of intestate succession in Oregon. Plaintiff is entitled and qualified to bring this action pursuant to ORS Defendant, V and W Investments, LLC, owns or controls the Ramada a hotel -located at 0 SE Stark Street, Portland, Oregon. FOR HER CLAIM AGAINST V AND W INVESTMENTS, LLC, PLAINTIFF ALLEGES: (Wrongful Death. On or about August,, the Decedent, June Sylvia Cole (hereinafter, Mrs. Cole was a guest -an invitee -of Defendant. Defendant, V and W Investments, LLC (hereinafter, Ramada operates a hotel under the name Ramada, in Portland.. While a guest at the Hotel, Ms. Cole was waiting outside the Hotel lobby s mechanical sliding doors for her daughter. Her daughter was going to pull a vehicle up, alongside the doors, into a drop-off/pickup area directly in front of the doors.. Mrs. Cole was waiting, in an apparently safe area in front of the lobby. The sliding doors abruptly moved, striking Mrs. Cole, causing her to fall and hit her head on the concrete. Mrs. Cole was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where she passed away on August,, shortly after midnight, as a result of the fall caused by Ramada s doors. Page - COMPLAINT W. Historic Columbia River Highway Telephone: (0-00 Facsimile (0-0

3 1. Defendant, Ramada, in causing the death of the Decedent, was negligent in one or more of the following ways: A. Allowing the automatic doors to remain in a defective and dangerous state. a. The doors were defective and dangerous to the extent they moved with sufficient violence to knock Plaintiff from her feet; b. To the extent the doors moved without warning; c. To the extent the doors moved without a sensor to halt their movement in the event a person was in their path; d. To the extent the area lacked warning as to the movement of the doors; B. Defendants further negligently caused Plaintiff s death by: a. Failing to warn Plaintiff of the hazard posed by the doors. b. Failing to discover the defects in the doors and failing to take steps to protect Plaintiff against the danger the doors posed. c. Failing to provide a safe areas to wait for cars in front of the establishment which was clear of the doors. d. Designing an entry to a hotel where patrons foreseeably waiting for transportation would be at risk from moving doors. e. Failing to eliminate the danger posed by the defects in the doors by fixing the doors. f. Failing to exclude through signage, fencing or other barrier or means, patrons from the area in which the doors moved. g. Failing to assist Mrs. Cole in navigating the doors given her age and infirmity; Page - COMPLAINT W. Historic Columbia River Highway Telephone: (0-00 Facsimile (0-0

4 1 h. Failing to explain or otherwise alert Mrs. Cole to the manner in which the doors operated and the dangers they presented; i. Failing to take special or other steps to protect Mrs. Cole and similarly situated elderly guests from impact by the doors.. Decedent's death was the direct result of Defendant, V and W Investments, LLC s negligent conduct, as set forth above.. Decedent s death was foreseeable, given the conditions outlined above together with the automatic and forceful operation of Defendant s doors and the thousands of guests who pass through those doors annually -a number of whom are aged and without clear sight, balance, or knowledge of automatic doors.. As a result of Decedent's death, Plaintiff was economically damaged in the amount of $,000.00, representing the cost of emergency services and funeral expenses.. As a result of Decedent's death, her surviving heirs, her daughter, brother and granddaughter, were deprived of Decedent's companionship, society and services, resulting in damages of $,00,000.. Decedent was killed by the impact of her fall. There was, however, a brief period of fear and hopelessness between the time Defendant was struck by the door and before her head struck Page - COMPLAINT W. Historic Columbia River Highway Telephone: (0-00 Facsimile (0-0

5 the pavement. Decedent suffered a last moment of pain and suffering, to her non-economic damage of $0, WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests this Court enter Judgment for Plaintiff and against Defendant as follows: a. For expenses incurred by the estate in the amount of $,000.00; b. For non-economic damages in the amount of $,00,000 representing the loss of companionship, society and services to Decedent's heirs, her daughter, son, and granddaughter. c. For non-economic damages in the amount of $0,000, representing Decedent's pain and suffering prior to her death. d. For other such relief as the Court may deem just and equitable. 1 DATED this th day of April,. /s/ David Shannon DAVID SHANNON, OSB #01 Attorney for Plaintiff Page - COMPLAINT W. Historic Columbia River Highway Telephone: (0-00 Facsimile (0-0