ELECTRONICALLY FILED - 2019 Jul 01 10:48 PM - HORRY - COMMON PLEAS - CASE#2019CP2604183

STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA ) IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS

) FOR THE FIFTHTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
COUNTY OF HORRY )
) CIVIL ACTION NO.: 2019-CP-26-
)
Sara Fitzgerald, individually, and E.F., a )
minor, by and through her Guardian Sara )
Fitzgerald, )
) SUMMONS
Plaintiffs, )
)
vs. )
)
Raleigh Krishna, Inc. dba Hampton Inn, )
)
Defendant. )

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and notified that an action has been filed against

you in this court. You are required to answer the Complaint in this action, a copy of which is

herewith served upon you, and to serve a copy of your Answer to this Complaint upon the

Plaintiffs’ Attorney at the address shown below within thirty (30) days after service hereof,

exclusive of the day of such service. If you fail to answer the Complaint, the Plaintiffs in this

action will apply to the Court for the relief demanded in the Complaint and a judgment by

default will be rendered against you.

/s/ Amy K. Raffaldt, Esq.

Amy K. Raffaldt, Esq. (#101337)
The Law Office of Amy K. Raffaldt, Esq.
1341 44th Ave. N., Ste. 205
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(843) 839-2900 Telephone
(843) 839-2913 Facsimile
amy@raffaldtlawfirm.com

Dated: July 1, 2019

 ELECTRONICALLY FILED - 2019 Jul 01 10:48 PM - HORRY - COMMON PLEAS - CASE#2019CP2604183
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA ) IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
) FOR THE FIFTHTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
COUNTY OF HORRY )
) CIVIL ACTION NO.: 2019-CP-26-
)
Sara Fitzgerald, individually, and E.F., a )
minor, by and through her Guardian Sara )
Fitzgerald, )
) COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES
Plaintiffs, ) (Jury Trial Requested)
)
vs. )
)
Raleigh Krishna, Inc. dba Hampton Inn, )
)
Defendant. )

NOW COMES the Plaintiffs, complaining of the Defendant, above-named, and does allege

and show unto this Honorable Court as follows:

PARTIES
1. That at all times material, Plaintiffs, Sara Fitzgerald and E.F., a minor, are residents of

the State of Virginia.

2. Upon information and belief, Raleigh Krishna, Inc. dba Hampton Inn (hereinafter

“Hampton Inn”) is a corporation incorporated in the State of North Carolina which

owns, operates, and does business in facilities located in Horry County, South

Carolina.

3. That the Plaintiff E.F. was injured at a location owned and operated by the Defendant

known as Hampton Inn located at 620 75th Avenue North, Myrtle Beach, South

Carolina 29572.

4. This is an action for damages in excess of the sum of Twenty-Five Thousand

($25,000.00) Dollars, exclusive of interest, costs, statutory penalties, and attorney’s

fees.

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 ELECTRONICALLY FILED - 2019 Jul 01 10:48 PM - HORRY - COMMON PLEAS - CASE#2019CP2604183
JURISDICTION

5. Jurisdiction is proper in this Honorable Court. Venue is also proper in this circuit as

the acts and omissions that are the subject of this action occurred in Horry County,

South Carolina.

GENERAL ALLEGATIONS

6. That on or about early July of 2017, the Plaintiffs were staying in a hotel room owned

and operated by the Defendant located at 620 75th Avenue North, Myrtle Beach, South

Carolina 29572.

7. On or about July 2, 2017, the Plaintiff Sara Fitzgerald, the minor child’s mother, was

preparing a food item for her daughter in the microwave located inside the hotel room.

After the food item had finished cooking, the minor child, Plaintiff E.F., opened the

microwave door and the glass turntable plate immediately fell out of the microwave

causing the hot food item to fall on top of Plaintiff E.F. As a result, the Plaintiff E.F.

suffered severe second-degree burns. When Plaintiff Sara Fitzgerald examined the

microwave following the incident, she discovered that the microwave was missing a

turning wheel causing the glass turntable plate to become unbalanced.

8. The Plaintiffs did not cause or contribute to her injuries, and further, had no ability to

avoid or prevent the same.

9. As a result of the above, the Plaintiff E.F. suffered severe bodily injuries, physical pain

and suffering, mental anguish and suffering, and the Plaintiff Sara Fitzgerald was

forced to spend money and incur costs for medical services and other matters related

to the Plaintiff E.F.’s injuries.

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 ELECTRONICALLY FILED - 2019 Jul 01 10:48 PM - HORRY - COMMON PLEAS - CASE#2019CP2604183
FOR A FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION AGAINST DEFENDANT RALEIGH KRISHNA,
INC. DBA HAMPTON INN
(Premises Liability/Negligence/Negligence Per Se)

10. The Plaintiffs repeat and reallege the above paragraphs as if restated verbatim.

11. The Plaintiffs would show that they came on the premises with the express or implied

permission of the Defendant.

12. The Plaintiffs were invitees on the premises, and therefore, the Defendant owed the

Plaintiffs the duty of exercising reasonable and ordinary care for their safety and to

discover risks and take safety precautions to warn of or eliminate unreasonable risks

within the area of invitation on the premises.

13. The Defendant further owed the Plaintiffs the duty of exercising reasonable and

ordinary care for their safety to prevent the occurrence of known or reasonably

anticipated risks and take safety precautions to warn of or eliminate unreasonable risks

within the area of invitation on the premises.

14. The Plaintiff E.F.’s injuries were the direct, foreseeable, and proximate result of

Defendant Hampton Inn’s negligent, negligent per se, grossly negligent, reckless,

wanton, willful, and careless acts and/or omissions in one or more of the following

particulars:

a. in failing to make all repairs and do whatever is reasonably necessary to put

and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition for the Plaintiffs;

b. in failing to provide reasonable and safe facilities to residents and guests of

the premises;

c. in failing to adequately discover and correct any defective conditions which

existed;

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 ELECTRONICALLY FILED - 2019 Jul 01 10:48 PM - HORRY - COMMON PLEAS - CASE#2019CP2604183
d. in failing to warn, inform, and protect its residents and guests from

dangerous and/or hazardous conditions present and existing on and about the

premises;

e. in failing to ensure that the premises was in a clean, safe, and good working

condition, free from any defects or damage that would materially affect the

health and/or safety of its residents and guests;

f. in failing to ensure that the agents, servants, and/or employees who operate

and manage the premises keep it in a clean, safe, and good working

condition, free from any defects or damage that would materially affect the

health and/or safety of its residents and guests;

g. in failing to properly maintain the premises;

h. in failing to properly inspect the premises;

i. in failing to properly staff the premises;

j. in negligently hiring agents, servants, and/or employees to operate the

facilities under the Defendant’s control, in particular, the premises where

Plaintiff E.F. was injured;

k. in negligently training agents, servants, and/or employees to operate the

facilities under the Defendant’s control, in particular, the premises where

Plaintiff E.F. was injured;

l. in negligently retaining agents, servants, and/or employees when the

Defendant knew, or in the exercise of ordinary care should have known, that

such employees were incompetent and negligent in carrying out the required

duties of their particular job;

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 ELECTRONICALLY FILED - 2019 Jul 01 10:48 PM - HORRY - COMMON PLEAS - CASE#2019CP2604183
m. in failing to obey the statutory and common laws of the State of South

Carolina;

n. in failing to exercise reasonable care and safety for the Plaintiffs, in

particular, the Plaintiff E.F., under the circumstances then and there existing;

o. in failing to use the degree of care and caution that a reasonable and prudent

person would have under the circumstances then and there prevailing – all

of which were a direct and proximate cause of the damages and injuries

suffered by the Plaintiffs herein, said acts being in violation of the statutory

and common laws of the State of South Carolina; and

p. in such other respects as the evidence at trial may show.

15. That, as a direct, proximate and foreseeable result of the negligent, negligent per se,

wanton, willful and reckless actions of the Defendant, the Plaintiff E.F. was injured

and caused to suffer the following damages:

a. Past, present and future medical and related expenses;

b. Past, present and future physical scarring;

c. Past, present and future physical and mental pain and suffering;

d. Past, present and future shame, humiliation, scarring, disability, discomfort,

disfigurement and the inability to lead a normal life.

16. The Plaintiffs are informed and believe that they are entitled to a judgment in this

matter for actual and punitive damages in an amount to be determined through the

Honorable Court.

WHEREFORE, the Plaintiffs pray that the Court inquire into the matters herein and grant

them a judgment in a reasonable sum of actual damages, punitive damages, costs, and such other

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 ELECTRONICALLY FILED - 2019 Jul 01 10:48 PM - HORRY - COMMON PLEAS - CASE#2019CP2604183
and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper, all in an amount in excess of Twenty-

Five Thousand ($25,000.00) Dollars.

DATED this 1st day of July, 2019

/s/ Amy K. Raffaldt, Esq.

Amy K. Raffaldt, Esq. (#101337)
The Law Office of Amy K. Raffaldt, Esq.
1341 44th Ave. N., Ste. 205
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(843) 839-2900 Telephone
(843) 839-2913 Facsimile
amy@raffaldtlawfirm.com

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