Rasnick v. Krishna Hospitality Inc.

A hotel owner had no duty to comply with the plaintiff's requests to check on, and possibly attempt a rescue of her husband, because the hotel owner did not create the peril and Georgia courts have not adopted the special relationship rule.

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Sidney Rasnick died while a registered guest at Motel Jesup. As his surviving spouse and administratrix of his estate, Virginia Rasnick Rasnick filed a wrongful death action against the entity that owned and operated the motel, Krishna Hospitality, Inc. Krishna was granted summary judgment, and Rasnick appeals. We affirm because Rasnick has failed to show any legal duty that Krishna allegedly breached in connection with the death of her husband. To prevail at summary judgment, the moving party must demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the undisputed facts, viewed in the nonmovant’s favor, warrant judgment as a matter of law.1 We review de novo a trial court’s grant of summary judgment, construing the evidence in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party.2

Rasnick and her 77-year-old husband lived in Texas. Having taken a job in Georgia, Sidney Rasnick checked into the motel on March 6, 2006, and for several days thereafter reported to work when scheduled and spoke with his wife several times each day. On the morning of March 13, however, a housekeeper for the motel opened the door to Sidney Rasnick’s room and found him lying on the floor between the two beds. Although he told her he could get up, he was unable to do so. Shortly thereafter, at about 12:30 p.m., Sidney Rasnick was transported by a summoned ambulance to a nearby hospital. He died there a short time later. An autopsy revealed that Sidney Rasnick died from untreated coronary artery disease, coupled with an enlargement of his heart. One cardiologist opined to a reasonable degree of medical certainty that, had Sidney Rasnick received medical treatment on the evening of March 12, he would have survived his health crises.

Rasnick v. Krishna Hospitality Inc.

A hotel owner had no duty to comply with the plaintiff's requests to check on, and possibly attempt a rescue of her husband, because the hotel owner did not create the peril and Georgia courts have not adopted the special relationship rule.

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