Crinkley v. Holiday Inns, Inc.

844 F.2d 156 (4th Cir. 1988)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Ps decided to attend a function being held at the North Carolina Civic Center. They selected the Holiday Inn-Concord and reserved a room for the nights of February 27 and 28. During the two weeks preceding the weekend of February 27, guests at several Charlotte-area motels had been assaulted and robbed on the premises by a group later dubbed the 'Motel Bandits' in media reports. The assistant manager of the Holiday Inn-Concord, Brian McRorie, was aware of the Motel Bandits from the various news media. The local County Sheriff's Office who wanted to know if McRorie was aware of the Motel Bandits and what plans he had for security at the motel. McRorie contacted Jim Van Over about the possibility of hiring security guards to patrol. Van Over concluded that extra security measures were not justified. Ps arrived as they were bringing in the last of their items, a man reached their room, stopped and asked to speak with James Crinkley. He immediately began trying to push Ps into their room. He succeeded, and he was armed with a gun, and once inside he beat James Crinkley, turned on the television and called for his accomplices. Two men entered, and they beat James Crinkley, bound and gagged him, and put a mattress on top of him. The men approached Sarah Crinkley. They pushed her down and asked for her money and her engagement ring. When she told them that the ring would not come off, one of the men put a gun to her head and told her that if she did not take it off, he would 'blow her brains out.' She got the ring off and gave it to the men. They then bound and gagged her before fleeing. She was able to free herself after a short time. She removed the mattress and gag from her husband and called the front desk for help. Before the assault, Sarah was under a doctor's care for hypertension and obesity. In April of 1982 -- approximately fourteen months after the assault -- she suffered a heart attack. She eventually had heart by-pass surgery to treat her condition. Everyone noticed that her personality changed drastically after the assault. She became fearful, anxious and withdrawn. Her activities also were observed to be much more restricted. A psychiatrist diagnosed her as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and major affective disorder. Ps sued Ds. The jury returned verdicts in favor of Ps. The jury awarded Sarah $400,000 and James $100,000 in compensatory damages. Ds appealed.