$16 Million Verdict Against Marriott After Untrained Night Clerk Handed Rapist a Keycard

On the night of April 19, 2020, Juateria Hall was a registered guest at the Residence Inn on Oxford Way in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. A man who was visibly intoxicated and had been making inappropriate comments about female guests approached the front desk and presented an ID to the overnight clerk. The ID did not match the name on any registered room, and the man had no authorization to receive a keycard. The clerk gave him one anyway.

The intruder entered Hall's room and raped her. He later pleaded guilty to second-degree forcible rape and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Hall filed suit against Marriott International and affiliated hotel entities, alleging negligent security and negligent supervision. The case went to trial in Forsyth County Superior Court before Judge Lora Cubbage in October 2024.

L. Chris Stewart and Daedrea Fenwick of Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys, alongside co-counsel Chimeaka L. White of The White Law Firm in High Point, presented evidence that the night clerk had been hired in November 2019 and had not received adequate training before being assigned to work alone on overnight shifts. They also established that Marriott exercised day-to-day operational control over the hotel, making the company directly responsible for staffing and training decisions. Plaintiff's counsel argued that it was entirely foreseeable that giving a keycard to a visibly drunk man who had made suggestive comments about female guests could result in a sexual assault.

The defense argued that the clerk's conduct was negligent but contended that the keycard was not actually used to gain entry to Hall's room and that rape was not a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the clerk's actions.

The jury deliberated for 90 minutes, asked no questions, and returned a verdict of $16 million. The verdict was reported as one of the notable plaintiff results in North Carolina for 2024.