Livingston v. Begay

OPINION

PAYNE, Justice.

This case presents various questions concerning the liability of a hotel operator for the death of a guest caused by allegedly defective fixtures in the hotel room.

Peter Begay, plaintiff’s decedent, was found dead in his hotel room the morning after he had checked in. The cause of death was asphyxiation by carbon monoxide gas which apparently escaped from a disconnected exhaust vent attached to a gas space heater located in the room. Plaintiff sued the Livingstons, owners and operators of the hotel at the time of death, the prior owner, Nellie Livingston (Nellie);…