That was a quote from the lawyer, who should have done his research before proposing and stating that position.
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Well, they seem to realize that. They are suing Airbnb, the host/property owner, the property management company and the prior guest who threw the party.
It’s an international news story that really did happen/is happening.
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??? They are considering Airbnb responsible, but don’t seem to realize that while the case could be made that Airbnb has responsiblility for not shutting the listing down if they had been made aware that previous guests had thrown a party with illicit drugs involved, Airbnb has no responsibility for cleaning a property.
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Thank you for sharing this.
I understand the parents suing ‘everyone.’ That’s really what they need to do to make sure that the ones who caused the harm are in the courtroom.
As to whether Airbnb should be liable, the discovery in the case might surface something. For example, if Airbnb were aware of parties at this house or issues of cleanliness, should they be liable? I don’t know.
I don’t know what the plaintiffs might be able to establish is ‘more likely than not,’ the typical standard in a civil case. They might well be able to establish that it was most likely that the child encountered the Fentanyl in the rental property.
From there, who knows how the case turns – what facts will surface? Have the owners been diligent in maintaining and cleaning the property? Or are there facts that show that the owners have not been diligent?
The Court might ask who should bear the burden on this poisoned child – the family, the Airbnb owner, Airbnb manager, prior partying guest or Airbnb?
Just because Airbnb hires hosts as independent contractors doesn’t mean that it has no potential liability. In a hospital all the ER doctors might be independent contractors from a separate firm the hospital hired. If one of them commits negligence, the hospital is going to be sued along with the doctor, the doctor’s firm and everyone else.
For now this story is a reminder – especially when we have any reason to expect that there has been partying – to make sure that our properties are thoroughly cleaned. It really might be a matter of life and death.
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It’s a civil case, not a criminal case and it’s for wrongful death. So it’s not as straightforward as Airbnb not being responsible for cleaning a property. First of all, the party with the most money will always be named in this kind of lawsuit and second, a settlement is usually the goal anyway (and Airbnb is known for making settlements in similar cases). Although it doesn’t really sound possible that criminal charges will be brought, it’s easier to win a civil case and/or get a large settlement from the company named in the suit - but they have to sue to get the settlement. That’s just the nature of wrongful death suits.
The lawyer’s view is that Airbnb is aware of the Fentanyl issues in its listings and that it sets the policies and that its cleaning policies are not adequate for cleaning up Fentanyl. I found some background on the case on a Florida lawyer site, here’s what they are saying on it. I haven’t read the complaint yet but imagine it’s a summary of that:
Airbnb has known for years that drug use is prevalent in its properties, including those same properties that are rented out to families with children and infants. Airbnb possesses actual or constructive knowledge that it facilitates drug use in its rentals, as well as unchecked and uncontrolled parties where drug use occurs through its property sharing services.
Through its website’s community discussion boards, where hundreds of posts sound the alarm on drugs being used, sold, manufactured, and left behind in Airbnb properties, Airbnb possesses actual or constructive knowledge that the nationwide Fentanyl crisis has all but spilled over into its rentals. Airbnb knows full well that Fentanyl (a synthetic opioid that is 50-100 times stronger than morphine) is being used and found in rentals, and that it creates a fatal risk to unaware guests, especially infants.
Airbnb also possesses actual or constructive knowledge that the cleaning procedures it advertises and promotes for its rentals are insufficient to decontaminate a rental from fatal Fentanyl.
Despite that knowledge and its purported “global team of safety and security experts [with] a full range of safety practices,” Airbnb has never so much as warned guests and parents of the known risks of fatal drugs like Fentanyl they may encounter in their rentals, or implemented cleaning procedures that would come close to addressing that risk.
*Attorneys Thomas Scolaro and Adam Rose of Leesfield Scolaro are representing the family.
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A copy of the complaint can be viewed here.*
So they are saying that Airbnb has a “duty to care”, which is the first step in proving liability in a wrongful death suit. To back up “duty to care” they are quoting Airbnb’s advertising of its safety and its cleaning policies, etc. And…OMG… they are using discussions from the CC to demonstrate Airbnb’s knowledge of the issues.
It’s very interesting all around.
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Well, I guess that’s what Airbnb gets for its reassuring PR about things they actually have no control over.
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omg I LOVE it when you become the conspiracy theorist. But it holds water, cos if the hotels are advertisers then they might put pressure on the media. Happens every day, that’s one reason why corporate media can’t be trusted anymore. They are also beholden to the followers, so if readers love these anti-abb stories, they’ll keep writing them.
and we’ve all clicked on it too…
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I just hope this gets settled quickly so that we don’t get an update with new “fentanyl cleaning policies” next month 
Did you read the Complaint? I wondered if you knew any of the hosts they quoted (p 6-7).
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I can’t really recall a lot of topics about drugs, but I also probably ignored them. there’s a lot!
Airbnb is not warning guests, are they supposed to be attaching something to all requests about dangerous drugs.
This is written as if Air has personal control over all rentals.
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I was thinking exactly the same thing re the cleaning policy. And that you’d need drug sniffer dogs or a forensic team to make sure.
Never heard of any of those hosts.Gotta be real careful what you post on the CC.
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I can see it now:
Mary is a Superhost. Wifi speed is Very Fast at 427 mbs. The listing has been sniffered by dogs.
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“The host has personally licked all surfaces and can guarantee that there is no drug residue anywhere in the unit”.
Kinda like politicians drinking a glass of tap water to prove to residents that the toxic chemical spill next to their house is nothing to worry about.
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Thank you for your research here.
[I was going to respond with faux criticism that it would be nice if just once in a while you would come up with facts and not just shoot from the hips something that ‘someone’ told you years ago. But not funny enough.]
It is interesting that the theory that the plaintiffs are using in the case is that the employer is generally liable for the acts/omissions of employees but ALSO independent contractors under one (or more) of three theories: 1) the principal (Airbnb) failed to properly vet, supervise the independent contractor, 2) the activity is non-delegable and a duty is owed to the public or 3) the work is inherently dangerous.
This really is a shocking case.
A nineteen month old child checks into an Airbnb that had been/is a party house. The little girl never leaves the premises and the next day takes a nap and is found dead of fentanyl.
Less than one month earlier the police were called to this Airbnb for a party, where the guest count of seven was exceeded. Just a week or so before there was a weekend reservation for six adults but there were 12 people there (this guest is alleged to have brought drugs to the property). [This is a 4 bedroom, 2 bath home.]
It will be very interesting to see if Airbnb is held liable though I suspect that Airbnb would be heavily incentivized to settle and not let a trial court come out with a ruling that Airbnb is liable for the actions/omissions of its Host.
I am supposing that this area of the law – vicarious liability – will emerge more and more of an issue as companies hire ‘gig’ workers and thereby skirt not just taxes and employee work conditions but also many traditional remedies that have evolved over the years to protect the public and consumer.
I just today read here in the forum of some properties that do advertise parties and events despite Airbnb’s ‘no party or event’ rule. Reading this complaint reminds the Host that if a guest uses certain drugs the results could be fatal to the next guest.
One takeaway is for sure to uphold the ‘no party’ rule (that means cameras, maybe more) for Airbnb reservations. [If you choose to permit parties, say on VRBO, you probably need some kind of writing on what is permitted/prohibited.]. Another takeaway is to have a very thorough cleaning if the Host has any reason to believe drugs might have been used on the property. Perhaps a third (but seems toothless) thing to do is to make sure you have a rule against all illegal activity, including drug use.
Imagine you were a juror in this case. A 19-month old is dead. The Airbnb property had apparently been a party house. Police were called there just in the prior month. Guests are making weekend reservations for 7+, a dozen people for a weekend stay in a 4 bedroom home.
Of course, the jurors will hear all the details. Wouldn’t you as the juror want someone ‘to pay’ for this? Should it be just the Hosts? Shouldn’t “deep pockets’ be tapped? It’s a civil case. No one is going to jail (so far). The standard of proof is not ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ but 'more likely than not.” What do you think you might do as a juror?
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There doesn’t have to be a party for guests to be using drugs in the house. You could just as easily have a single guest who was using. Fentanyl and crack aren’t just party drugs, in fact, they most often are not, I would hazard a guess.
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I agree.
But here the facts look like the plaintiffs will show that there was a party, maybe two in just the last month, and that drugs were used at at least one of those parties. So that’s a bad look on the Host defendants.
But you’re right, of course. It could be someone splitting a pill that they lose. So, as Hosts, we need to think about the ‘innocent’ situations where harm could arise.
This case does underscore the importance, maybe the life and death importance of cleanliness.
The case also underscores how ‘all’ will come out if there’s an accident.
Right or wrong, the question is how a juror will interpret actions/omissions in some things (e.g., in allowing parties, occupancy exceeding booked or maximum) to come to conclusion in other things.
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I still don’t see how the cops can dismiss the parents as having had the drug with them just because their belongings were searched. I don’t care if they’re doctors or lawyers- plenty of supposedly upstanding citizens have a hard drug habit. In fact, one just got sentenced to life in prison.
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I’m sure lawyers will make this strong argument in court, @muddy .
I just read the complaint, thanks so much @JJD , the complaint disturbs for multiple reasons.
Apart from the horror of this poor child’s death, all the info about drug use in AirBnBs is sobering indeed. I’ll be better in the morning but right now I feel like throwing in the towel.
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