Two federal courts sided with the Otis Elevator Co., dismissing suits brought by separate hotel guests who sought to hold the company liable for their injuries when the lifts malfunctioned.
Both the the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia recently ruled in favor Otis Elevator. The plaintiffs, Brendan Hoover, who stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue Washington, as well as a group staying with James Manning at the Drury Plaza Hotel in Henrico County, Virginia, each accused the company of negligently failing to maintain the hotel elevators.