Bed bugs in Ventura hotel lead to $2-million jury ruling for bitten guests

A bed bug-ridden stay at a Ventura hotel turned into a multimillion-dollar jury payout for two guests who were “massacre[d] from bed bug bites” during their visit, according to court records.

A jury on Friday ordered the Shores Inn to pay $2 million to Alvaro Gutierrez and Ramiro Sanchez, in what may be one of the largest known bed bug-related jury awards.

“The bed bugs latched onto the Plaintiffs while they slept, sucked their blood until they were gorged, and resisted eradication,” according to the complaint.

A representative for Shores Inn did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An attorney representing the hotel in the suit declined to comment.

The case stemmed from a 2020 visit to the Shores Inn in Ventura.

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According to their complaint, Gutierrez and Sanchez were “exposed to painful and disgusting bed bug infestations,” and suffered physical, emotional, and mental anguish as a result of their Feb. 7, 2020, stay at the beachside hotel.

“The management was not taking good care of the place,” said Brian Virag, attorney for Gutierrez and Sanchez. “Turns out, they had experience with bed bugs at that hotel dating back a long time.”

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The hotel, located near the 101 Freeway and just a short walk from Ventura Beach, touts easy parking and proximity to the Ventura Pier and the Ventura Harbor.

The complaint, filed in December 2021, alleges the two men rented a room at the hotel and immediately began experiencing bed bug bites.

The suit also alleged that management at the hotel must have been aware of bed bug problems because several online reviews on Google and Yelp warned guests about bed bugs at the hotel, located at 1059 South Seaward Ave. in Ventura.

Despite knowing about the problem, the suit alleges, management failed to eradicate the pests from the hotel, exposing guests to harm.

Gutierrez and Sanchez left the hotel after one night, Virag said, and had to seek medical treatment as a result of the bites.

On May 23, a jury awarded Gutierrez $400,000 in damages for past and future pain, disfigurement, grief, and emotional distress as a result of the injuries. Sanchez was awarded $600,000 in damages, according to court records.

The jury also awarded $500,000 each to the two men in punitive damages.

But Wendy Lascher, an appellate attorney recently hired by the hotel owners, said her clients were considering the possibility of appealing the decision, or moving for a mistrial or new trial.

“There’s unusual factors that go beyond the initial facts of the case,” she said.

After the verdict was issued and the jury was dismissed, court records show that a note was found inside one of the notebooks given to jurors, suggesting two of the jurors had been near the Shores Inn hotel during the trial.

The note also stated that one member of the jurors, in chambers, told other jurors that the hotel was “an eyesore & should be tore down.”

“I just need to clear my conscious,” the note read.

Virag said the note did not change the facts of the case.

“It is not uncommon that the losing party will attempt to appeal the decision of 12 members of the community,” he said. “We will let the courts handle that.”

In 2022, the Disneyland Resort agreed to pay $100,000 to a resort hotel guest in a lawsuit settlement addressing claims she was bitten by bedbugs during a visit in 2018. The following year, a British tourist represented by Virag won a $375,000 award after being attacked by bed bugs during a stay at a Hollywood Hills home.

Virag, an Encino-based attorney who has specialized in bed bug cases filed against hotels and apartments, said the $2-million jury award is the largest one he’s seen in bed bug-related cases in his career.