Question

Question 14 2 pts Ming was on vacation and slipped in a hotel bathroom due to a defective shower head fixture leaking water on the bathroom floor, making the floor wet and slippery. Ming appeared to have broken her left arm because of the fall and decided to file a complaint with the state trial court, seeking damages of $50,000. Ming's attorneys took a detailed account of how Ming injured herself and contacted the hotel to inform them that Ming wished to make a claim. 1. Who is the plaintiff and who is the defendant in this case? 2. Is this a civil or criminal case? How do you know? HTML Editor BIVA - A - IE * 3 1 x x, EE - N VX G le 12pt - Paragraph

Answer 1

1. The plaintiff is the person bringing a lawsuit to court, by filing a plea or motion. More frequently these days, in civil law cases, a plaintiff is often called a claimant. That is, the plaintiff or claimant is the person bringing a claim against another person. So, Ming is the plaintiff in this case.

  The other party in a lawsuit is the defendant or respondent (the one who responds). The defendant is the person being sued or the person against whom the complaint is filed. So, the hotel will be the defendant in this case as Ming will bring the claim against the hotel.

2. A civil case happens when one person, business, or agency sues another one because of a dispute between them, usually involving money. If someone loses a civil case, they may be ordered to pay the other side money or to give up property.

  A criminal case happens when the government files a case in court to punish someone (the defendant) for committing a crime. If the defendant is found guilty of a crime, he or she may face jail or prison.

In this case the hotel is being held liable for Ming's injury. It is a slip and fall injury case which comes under premises liability law which states that a hotel has a general duty to exercise reasonable care in operating its business and protecting guests. A hotel guest, considered an "invitee" under premises liability law, is legally entitled to a high amount of protection.  

A hotel must inspect the hotel grounds and maintain the property in a reasonably safe condition. This duty includes quickly repairing dangerous conditions and taking affirmative steps to protect guests from known or reasonably discoverable conditions.

Hence, it is a civil case.