Hotel Bel-Air Not Liable For Alleged Wedding Reception Fall

February 28, 2008

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has thrown the case of a wealthy real estate developer who claimed that he had slipped and suffered severe injuries during a wedding reception at the posh Hotel Bel-Air out of court.

Judge Linda Lefkowitz granted the hotel's motion for summary judgment against Alvin Weintraub because he could not establish that the hotel created, or knew of, any substance that purportedly existed on some stairs adjacent to the area of the wedding ceremony that he attended on Nov. 15, 2006. Murchison & Cumming Senior Partner Guy R. Gruppie and Associates Megan R. Peitzke and Anastasia K. Mazzella successfully argued that the stairs included all appropriate anti-slip materials and could not as a matter of law be considered a dangerous condition. Plaintiff testified at deposition that he thought he slipped on water, but he was never able to confirm what substance, if any, was involved in his accident.

Weintraub, 64, claimed permanent injuries to his neck, back, hips and legs and testified that he was unable to participate in several lucrative real estate deals as a result of the incident. As such, he was expected to seek several hundred thousand dollars in damages if the matter proceeded to trial.

Plaintiff was represented by John C. Torjesen, President of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles in 2007.