De Lema v. Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Inc.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

HAIGHT, District Judge:

In this action brought within the Court’s diversity jurisdiction, a hotel guest sues a New York City hotel owner for the theft of an attache case containing jewelry, which occurred while the guest was in the process of registering. Following depositions, both parties move for summary judgment. The case turns upon the proper construction and application of the innkeeper statute enacted in New York, section 200 of the General Business Law, 19 McKinney’s Con-sol.L. of N.Y. (1968).

I

On October 30, 1982 plaintiff Jose Maria Berga de Lema, a…