Georgia woman sues Marriott for $10 million after she was arrested and kicked out of hotel
Atlanta GA Dec 29 2017 A woman in Georgia claims that she was kicked out of a Marriott hotel because she ‘was a non-swinger on a swingers’ floor’, according to a lawsuit she filed against the hotel chain.
Hale Lewis claims in the lawsuit she filed last week in the U.S. District Court of Northern Georgia that she booked a room on the fifth floor from December 30, 2016 to January 1, 2017 at an Atlanta Marriott to attend a New Year’s Eve party hosted by a local disc jockey.
Shortly after checking in, Lewis claims that she encountered a ‘middle-aged white male’ named ‘Brent’ who was standing by the fifth floor lobby area outside of the elevator.
Lewis said she was asked by Brent if she was ‘with the group’, referencing the ‘Swingers of Atlanta’, to which she said she was not and was meeting her friends for a New Year’s Eve Party.
The woman said she put her personal belongings inside of her assigned room and then left the hotel to go to a nearby mall.
When she returned around two hours later, she claims she got off on the elevator to her floor and found Brent sitting at a long table that had been set up to register participants of the Swingers of Atlanta party.
Brent apparently told Lewis that she had to ‘register and pay’ if she wanted to stay on the fifth floor at the hotel.
But Lewis told Brent that she already paid for her room at the hotel’s front desk.
She claims she ended the conversation with Brent and went into her room to change her clothes before leaving again to go to the Jacuzzi, which is located on the first floor at the hotel around 9.45pm.
When she returned back to the fifth floor, Brent was still at the table and then allegedly threatened to have her kicked out of her room.
Lewis then entered her room to shower and when she got out, she found two security guards inside staring at her as she stood naked, according to the lawsuit.
She yelled at the guards while trying to cover her naked body before confronting them to see why they were inside her room.
According to the lawsuit, Brent then confronted Lewis with one of the security guards saying that he wanted her removed from the room that she booked because she ‘refused to participate in the group activities’ related to the Swingers of Atlanta.
The hotel security guard apparently agreed with Brent, despite the fact she informed him she was assigned the room by the hotel front desk clerk.
Lewis then asked them to leave her room and shut the door.
While calling to speak with the front desk over the issue, two Cobb County Police Department officers and two hotel security guards entered her room along with Brent without probable cause.
The officers, which included Cobb County Police Chief Michael Register, did not identify themselves prior to entry, and did not have an arrest warrant or search warrant authorizing their conduct, the lawsuit claims.
Lewis claims that Cobb County Police Chief Michael Register (above) kicked her out of the hotel and then arrested her along with another officer +2
Lewis claims that Cobb County Police Chief Michael Register (above) kicked her out of the hotel and then arrested her along with another officer
One of the officers asked Lewis for her identification, but she questioned why they were present and unlawfully entered her room.
Lewis tried to explain her side of the story to the officers and hotel staff, including the manager, who questioned if she knew she had registered for the room under a ‘SA’ group code, to which she said she was not aware.
The hotel manager then said they would not offer her another room and told officers to remove Lewis from the property.
Lewis was then placed in handcuffs and arrested by the officers in her pajamas with no undergarments and inadequate footwear, the lawsuit alleges.
The officers later told Lewis that there were complaints against her for being intoxicated, but Lewis claims she had not had any alcoholic beverage that evening.
She was then taken to Cobb County Dentention Center and detained for twelve hours, according to the lawsuit.
She was initially charged with obstruction of a law enforcement officer and disorderly conduct.
The charge of disorderly conduct was dismissed and she is currently appealing the obstruction charge.
Lewis is suing for intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, defamation, false light invasion of privacy and false imprisonment.
She is seeking at least $10 million in the suit.
