Devries v. Renaissance Hotel Management Co. CA2/7

Filed 9/22/21 Devries v. Renaissance Hotel Management Co. CA2/7 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SEVEN

LAURIE DEVRIES et al., B298045

Plaintiffs and Appellants, (Los Angeles County v. Super. Ct. No. BC552750)

RENAISSANCE HOTEL MANAGEMENT COMPANY, LLC et al., Defendants and Respondents.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Timothy Patrick Dillon, Judge. Affirmed. Law Offices of Alain V. Bonavida and Alain V. Bonavida for Plaintiffs and Appellants. Ford, Walker, Haggerty & Behar and Edye A. Hill for Defendants and Respondents. ___________________

Laurie Devries slipped on a wet surface at the entrance to the Renaissance LAX Hotel and broke her leg. She and her husband, Lee Devries, sued Renaissance Hotel Management Company, LLC, Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc., Renaissance Hotel Operating Company and Sunstone LA Airport LLC (collectively Renaissance companies), entities that own or control the hotel, for negligence, premises liability and loss of consortium. A jury found in favor of the Renaissance companies, and judgment was entered in their favor. On appeal the Devrieses contend the trial court committed prejudicial error in excluding from evidence a video of an unrelated accident at the hotel. We affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 1. The Accident On November 17, 2012, after a six-hour flight, the Devrieses arrived at the Renaissance LAX Hotel with their son and daughter. After registering, they went to their room to change for dinner. Laurie Devries put on rubber-soled sandals (flip-flops). The family walked across the street in the rain without umbrellas to a fast-food restaurant. Returning to the hotel, the Devrieses walked on wet sidewalks, across a wet street and through the wet valet area. As Laurie Devries approached the hotel, she encountered a sign in her path, stepped around it and walked into the hotel without crossing the floor mat at the entrance. As she crossed the threshold, she slipped on the polished marble tile surface inside the hotel’s front door, falling on her right leg. The injury was serious. Laurie Devries suffered a broken tibia and fibula, went into shock and was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital. Surgery was scheduled for