CHICAGO — An Illinois state appeals panel has upheld a Cook County judge's decision that the Four Seasons in Chicago was not obligated to warn guests about a wet marble bathroom floor, saying the condition posed a danger that should have been open and obvious.
Justice Nathaniel Howse Jr. wrote the appellate court order. Justices Cynthia Cobbs and James Fitzgerald Smith concurred.
Plaintiff Roger Coleman had sued the hotel, alleging he slipped and fell while exiting the shower while he was staying as a guest at the Four Seasons in 2014. He believed the defendants were negligent because they did not provide a bath mat or anti-slip gripping on the floor.
Justice Nathaniel Howse
| Illinois courts
The court said Coleman had showered each day of his stay at the hotel and fell and injured his ankle on the last day of his stay.
The plaintiff testified he preferred to shower, get out and shave at the sink without drying off and then get back into the shower. Coleman said he slipped getting out of the shower because he had previously dripped water on the marble floor.
Coleman also testified he had marble flooring at his home and was aware that it was slippery when wet.
The appellate court opinion said hotel employees were called and one had a taxi take Coleman to the hospital to be examined. Another employee then picked Coleman up at the hospital, brought him back to the hotel and helped him pack his things.
The hotel employees claimed that a bath mat was included in each of the bathrooms at the hotel, the opinion said, along with a bath rug in front of the sink. The bath mats were typically placed over the side of the bathtub.
Coleman filed a lawsuit against Four Seasons in 2015, and the hotel filed a motion for summary judgment. The trial court granted the motion for summary judgment. Coleman then appealed to the Illinois First District Appellate Court.
According to Cook County court records, Coleman was represented in the action by attorneys with the firm of Crotty Schiltz LLP, of Chicago.
The Four Seasons is represented by attorneys with the firm of Grant, Fanning & Olsen, of Chicago.