Question

While Charles and Esther Kveragas were in a rented motel room at the Scottish Inns, Inc., in Knoxville, Tennessee, three intruders kicked open the door, shot Charles, and injured Esther. The intruders also took $3,000 belonging to the Kveragases. The Kveragases brought an action against the motel owners, claiming that the owners had been negligent in failing to provide adequately for the safety of the motel s guests. At trial, the evidence showed that the door had a hollow core and that it fit poorly into the door frame. There was no deadbolt lock on the door, although such locks were easily available and commonly used in motels. The only lock on the door was one fitted into the door handle, which was described as a grade three lock, although a security chain was attached to the door. The Kveragases had both locked and chained the door, but still, a single kick on the part of the intruders was all that was necessary to open it. Evidence at trial also indicated that a deadbolt lock would have withstood the force that was applied to the door.

Required:
Did the motel owners have a duty to protect their guests from criminal acts on the motel premises, and if so, did the owners breach that duty of care by failing to provide more secure locks on the doors of the motel rooms?

Answer 1

yes they had a duty of protection to guests and they breached this duty

Step-by-step explanation:

Did this motel have the duty to protect the Kveragas from this kind of activity?

The answer is yes under the tort law. This motel has a duty of care to safeguard the life, security and properties of others. This is a law obligation and the motel has to take necessary actions to follow through.

The kveragas were occupants of this motel, during ther stay here, this question has made us to understand that they were attacked by intruders and they also lost their properties in this attack. The motel did not fulfill its duty of care to the kveragas because the room they rented was not properly secured. The door did not have proper lock. An Insufficient and bad lock system is what gave this criminals entry and brought the occupants to harm.

Therefore it is evident that the motel owners breached there duty of care by not having a secure lock system.