Sacramento, Calif. (September 24, 2025) - Sacramento Partner Shane Singh and Associate Grace Mehta of Lewis Brisbois' Labor & Employment and ADA Compliance & Defense Practices recently secured a defense verdict for a motel client following a three-week trial in an Unruh Act lawsuit arising from a trip-and-fall incident in 2019.
The incident in question occurred in August 2019 at the client's motel in Barstow, California. The plaintiff, an elderly woman, had alleged she booked an accessible room at the motel through an online service. Upon arrival at the motel, the motel did not have a record of the accessible room request and the only ADA accessible room at this motel was already occupied. Additionally, the accessible room had one bed and plaintiff's party desired two beds. The motel allowed the party to examine a room on the first floor with two beds. The plaintiff and her party examined the room and then accepted it for their one-night stay.
During her stay, the plaintiff crossed the doorway threshold of her room several times without incident. While exiting the room to check out of the motel, the plaintiff tripped and fell, suffering a laceration to her left lower eyelid, a small scalp hematoma, and superficial abrasions to her right knee. While receiving treatment right after the fall, she rated her pain level as a 2 out of 10 and rejected an offer for an immediate transfer to a specialist to repair her eyelid, instead receiving stitches to close the eyelid injury at a later date.
In February 2021, the plaintiff filed a complaint against Lewis Brisbois' client in California federal court, asserting causes of action for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Unruh Act, as well as additional state-law claims for negligence and failure to warn. In January 2023, the federal court entered a judgment dismissing the plaintiff's ADA claim against the client with prejudice and dismissing the state-law claims without prejudice.
The plaintiff subsequently filed a complaint in San Bernardino County Superior Court, asserting her remaining claims for violations of the Unruh Act and negligence/premises liability.
The Lewis Brisbois team argued that the plaintiff could not make the requisite showing could not point to any alleged violations of applicable building codes or accessibility standards to establish negligence per se. An expert retained by Lewis Brisbois explained to the jury that the threshold in the subject room complied with building code requirements, in that it was older construction and not designated as an accessible room.
The case proceeded to a jury trial. Following the three-week trial, the jury found in the client's favor on the Unruh Act claim and assigned 100 percent fault to the plaintiff on the negligence claim.