The Nevada Supreme Court Thursday issued an opinion opening the door for a guest raped by a Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino employee to sue the resort.
The opinion reverses a district court order granting the resort operators summary judgment in the case saying given all the circumstances, the rape by Alonzo Gonzalez was “reasonably foreseeable” which, under Nevada statute, makes his employer “vicariously liable” for his actions.
Gonzalez has since pleaded guilty to sexual assault in the case.
The victim’s lawyers presented evidence of five prior sexual assaults by Mandalay employees. Three of the victims were guests and two were other employees.
In addition, there were eight different police reports charging employees entered guest rooms and stole items along with other reports by guests employees had entered their rooms without permission.
In addition, Mandalay had earlier suspended Gonzalez for 31 days after he allegedly harassed and threatened a female employee, but then restored his keycard access to guest rooms and assigned him to a shift with minimal supervision.
The opinion by Justice Ron Parraguirre states when all things were considered a reasonable jury could conclude Gonzalez’s conduct was foreseeable.
“Nevada will hold an employer vicariously liable for an employee’s intentional tort — even though it was outside the scope of employment — if that intentional tort was reasonably foreseeable under the facts and circumstances of the case,” the opinion concluded.
The high court sent the case back to district court, reinstating the case and directing the district judge allow the victim to amend her complaint to include claims against the hotel/casino.