“The bed bugs latched onto the Plaintiffs while they slept, sucked their blood until they were gorged, and resisted eradication,” according to the complaint filed by plaintiff attorney Brian Virag of My Bed Bug Lawyer, Inc.
The defendant, landlord Dario Pini — a well-known name in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties for a long history of health and safety code violations at his properties — has been ordered by a jury to pay a whopping $2 million in damages to two guests at one of his Ventura properties, The Shores Inn.
After staying at the hotel in February 2020, Alvaro Gutierrez and Ramiro Sanchez “were exposed to painful and disgusting bed bug infestations, and as a result, suffered physical injuries, emotional distress, and mental anguish,” according to the plaintiff complaint.
But the verdict may be contested; on Tuesday, June 17, defense attorney Wendy Lascher will be at the Ventura courthouse for an ex parte hearing, asking the judge, Honorable Mark Borrell, to not enter the judgement for 30 days so that an anonymous note, possibly written by a juror, could be investigated.
“A note was found loose in one of the notebooks provided to the jurors,” says a court disclosure document dated one day after the verdict was decided and the jury dismissed.
It is not known who wrote the note (pictured below), but it alleges that two of the jurors had driven past The Shores Inn during the trial, and that the jury foreperson had said during a session that The Shores Inn is “an eyesore and should be torn down.” When asked about the note, plaintiff attorney Brian Virag says that he will “let the courts handle that,” but will be at Tuesday’s hearing.
You must be logged in to post a comment.