A woman is suing a major vacation rental company and its associates for negligence after suffering severe injuries at one of their properties. Lila Morris filed the complaint in the District Court of Harris County, Texas, on August 8, 2024, against Airbnb Inc., Full Spinnaker Investments, LLC, David Lam, and My Le.
The lawsuit stems from an incident that occurred on September 11, 2022. Morris was staying at an Airbnb property located at 3516 Ave. S. ½ in Galveston, Texas. The property was owned by David Lam and My Le and managed by Airbnb and Full Spinnaker Investments. According to the court filing, while walking through the kitchen area of the property, Morris tripped over uneven flooring that she had not seen or been warned about. This fall resulted in serious bodily injuries including a broken hip and numerous severe contusions.
Morris's complaint alleges that the defendants knew or should have known about the dangerous condition of the flooring but failed to remedy it or provide adequate warnings. "Defendants breached their duty of ordinary care," states the petition, listing failures such as not making safe any dangerous conditions on the property and not providing adequate warnings about hazards like the uneven flooring.
The plaintiff argues that as a social guest on the premises, she was owed a duty of care by the defendants to maintain a safe environment. The failure to do so constitutes negligence under Texas law. Morris claims that this negligence directly led to her injuries and seeks damages exceeding $1 million for past and future medical expenses, physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, physical impairment, disfigurement, and punitive damages.
Represented by attorneys Brit Mitchell, Niles Sneed, and Emily Faber Vechan from Sneed|Mitchell LLP based in Houston, Texas, Morris demands a jury trial for her case. The case has been assigned Case ID: 2024-51113 with Judge Bernitta Barrett presiding over it.