Ritz-Carlton Settles Safety Violation Suit for $115,000

The Ritz-Carlton hotel in Laguna Niguel agreed Wednesday to pay $115,000 to settle a civil lawsuit filed by the Orange County district attorney’s office for violations of fire and safety codes.

The complaint charged that the hotel had blocked fire exits in banquet rooms and an underground parking garage between 1984, when the luxury hotel first opened, and 1986.

“The complaint was entered today and the judgment was made today, but the violations were for activities over the past 4 years,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Gay Geiser-Sandoval said.

All the safety violations have since been corrected, she added.

‘Safe as Any Hotel’

Linda Adams, a spokeswoman for the hotel said: “These are old problems that have long since been cleared up. . . . From our standpoint the hotel is as safe as any in the county, and as safe as any in the country, for that matter.”

The suit charged that in 1986 the hotel had illegally converted a portion of its underground parking garage into paint- and woodworking shops and a storage area. Makeshift walls and improper ventilation created a serious hazard, as well as a health hazard to workers in the area, the suit alleged.

In addition, a portion of one of two fire exit corridors extending from a group of banquet rooms had been blocked off from 1984 until November, 1988.

“The potential harm from these violations was enormous. If, in fact, there had been a fire or earthquake, a lot of people could have been injured or killed,” Geiser-Sandoval said.

“The message we are sending out is that it is important for other hotels to take stock of their situation and make sure they have a safe environment. Hopefully, other hotels will take corrective action on their own if, in fact, they are in violation of the codes,” Geiser-Sandoval said.

Adams said that in addition to taking steps to meet the fire and safety codes, the Ritz-Carlton has hired a former firefighter to serve as a full time “Director of Life Services.” The postion was created to ensure the hotel safety exits are kept in working order and to train the hotel staff in fire and safety procedures.

The settlement by the Ritz-Carlton is the second-largest paid by a hotel in the past 5 years, Geiser-Sandoval said. In 1987, Capistrano Bay Inn agreed to pay $125,000 for a number of building and safety violations, she said.