Your document should be in essay format, error-free, graduate level composition (i.e. APA
format should be followed, including cover sheet and references). Your answer should include
a complete answer to the questions presented and your document should be between 3-5
pages total.
PROBLEM
While driving to visit friends in Baltimore, Chris was caught in a sudden blinding snow and ice
storm. Chris pulled off the road in Howard County, Maryland, to seek emergency shelter for the
night. Chris found a hotel near the exit of the Interstate, and drove into the parking lot to get a
room to wait out the storm. Only the part of the parking lot directly in front of the hotel and the
covered sidewalk by the front entrance were shoveled and relatively clear of ice and snow. The
rest of the parking lot and sidewalks were untreated, and were covered with several inches of
ice and snow.
Chris left his dog, Tray, in the car while Chris registered for a room. Chris asked the desk
clerk for a room near an exit to the parking lot so that it would be easy to walk Tray and to move
suitcases into and out of the hotel. Although it was against hotel policy to assign rooms at the
far end of the hotel in inclement weather unless all of the rooms close to the core area of the
hotel were filled, the clerk assigned Chris to a room at the far end of the hotel after Chris
insisted that the requested location was essential. The Clerk reminded Chris that the parking lot
and sidewalks were untreated, and advised Chris to walk carefully.
Chris parked the car near the exit at the far end of the hotel, and Chris walked Tray into the
hotel. As he took Tray in, Chris slipped on the ice all the way back to the hotel. Chris went back
outside to unpack the car. On the way back to the car, Chris slipped and fell on the ice and
suffered a broken arm that required surgery.
Chris wants to file a law suit against the hotel. Please answer the following:
1. What type of cause of action/tort should he file and what should he allege in his
law suit?
2. Can he prove each of the tort elements necessary to be successful in his law suit?
Why or Why not? (Note: You must provide an analysis on each of the elements
necessary to bring the type of law suit)
3. What defenses does the hotel have, if any? (Note: You must provide an analysis of
any potential defenses)
