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A Michigan couple has filed a civil lawsuit against The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas. They allege negligence and gross negligence after they say they were robbed at gunpoint during a stay at the luxury resort last September. According to the complaint filed in District Court, Samuel Sullivan and Shayaria Gilmore were visiting the US Virgin Islands when the incident occurred in the early morning hours of one night during their stay.
The lawsuit states that the couple returned to the hotel late at night and waited in the lobby for transportation to their assigned guest room building, which was located away from the main area of the resort. A member of the hotel’s security team transported them to their building. Upon arrival, the couple realized they did not have their room key. The complaint alleges that Sullivan asked the security guard not to leave them alone. Despite the request, the guard departed to retrieve a replacement key. While waiting outside the building, the couple was allegedly confronted by armed assailants. The complaint states that the suspects stole custom jewelry, a luxury watch, a designer handbag, and other valuables with a combined appraised value exceeding $425,000. Sullivan also claims he was pistol-whipped during the attack, which resulted in severe pain and a pronounced black eye.
Police reportedly responded within minutes of a 911 call. According to the complaint, responding officers observed that a fence line between the hotel and a neighboring condominium property included a gate that appeared unsecured. This potentially provided an access point near the location of the robbery.
The lawsuit alleges that the resort’s layout requires late-night transport of guests from the lobby to distant guest room buildings and that the surrounding area featured conditions conducive to concealment and sudden attack. These included dim lighting, vegetation near pedestrian pathways and building entrances, and perimeter gates that appeared unsecured and unmonitored. The plaintiffs argue that such conditions posed an unreasonable risk of violent third-party crime unless appropriate security measures were implemented and enforced.
The complaint further asserts that the resort had prior notice of similar risks through internal incident reports, guest and staff complaints, security logs, work orders, and communications with law enforcement. In addition to claims of common law negligence, the couple alleges gross negligence in the hiring and placement of the security guard who escorted them that night. The lawsuit states that the guard, who is not named in the filing, had a criminal history that included charges involving unauthorized use of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence. The plaintiffs contend that the guard was placed in a role involving discretionary responsibility for guest escort and access assistance during overnight hours despite what they describe as a significant criminal background that proper vetting may have uncovered.
Anthony’s Take: The case is pending and we’ll have to see how this shakes out. It’s crazy to think that you could be robbed while staying at a luxury resort, but I guess crime can happen anywhere (just look at my much-less-scary robbery in Lake Como last summer).
(Image Credits: Marriott.)
(H/T: View from the Wing.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
