San Diego : Hotel San Diego Named in Civil Suit

A $60,000 civil suit against the former management of the Hotel San Diego for alleged illegal removal of asbestos has been filed by the district attorney’s office.

Grosvenor Hospitality Group Inc., the operator of the hotel when the asbestos was supposedly removed in August, is accused of violating the California Hazardous Materials Act and engaging in unfair business practices by not properly training its employees in the detection, removal and disposal of asbestos, the district attorney’s office said.

The hotel had been the home of nine temporary county courtrooms for two years until August of last year, when a chunk of ceiling in a room used by the court fell to the carpeted floor. The district attorney alleges that hotel workers subsequently scraped the ceiling clean and tossed the asbestos-laden remnants into a trash bin behind the building without properly identifying the carcinogen or using correct cleaning procedures.