Hotel Wins Suit Against Parents of Rowdy Teens

A hotel that sued the parents of 16 Taft High School students after the teenagers allegedly vandalized rooms and disrupted guests following a homecoming dance was awarded $375 in Small Claims Court on Monday, far less than the hotel asked for.

Airtel Plaza Hotel sought $3,327 in damages, mostly to cover the cost of reimbursing about 30 guests whose bills were canceled to mollify them when they complained about the disturbance.

According to a Los Angeles Police Department report, the raucous party on Nov. 15 lasted five hours and resulted in damage to furniture, carpeting and wallpaper at the hotel at Van Nuys airport. The report estimated the hotel’s loss at $4,000.

The parents of one youth were ordered to pay $125 to fix a broken chair, said Bert Seneca, the hotel’s general manager. The parents of another were told to pay $250 to repair a broken desk.

Hotel executives said they were not disappointed with the damages they received, saying they cared more about making a statement than about the money. “We will react to any damages created at the hotel and let parents know they will be held responsible for their kids,” Seneca said.

The lawsuit, filed in March, named the parents of 16 Taft students who reserved rooms for their sons and daughters. Since then, six defendants were dropped, Seneca said.

Of those, three could not be served with court papers and one was a case of mistaken identity. The parents of one student settled out of court for $207 and another youth stepped up and took responsibility, enough for the hotel to drop him from the suit, he said.

“The kid took responsibility--he asked ‘Can I do something to make a difference,”’ Seneca said. “The offering was more than enough for us to tell him he didn’t need to appear.”

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In court on Monday, the parents argued that there was no proof their children were individually involved. The other eight parents were not ordered to pay restitution.

Seneca said the experience will encourage employees to “ask more questions” when booking hotel rooms but added that under state law the hotel may not discriminate against children.