Disney has agreed to pay a woman $100,000 after she alleged she was bit multiple times by bedbugs while staying at the Disneyland Hotel.
Ivy Eldridge said she was staying at the hotel in April 2018 with family when she was bitten by bedbugs she believed came from the hotel property. According to the lawsuit, she suffered emotional stress and anxiety from the bites which caused severe rashes over her body and led to her losing clothing and other personal items.
The lawsuit alleged Disney failed to maintain its rooms in a “decent, safe and habitable condition.”
Disney told the Los Angeles Times and confirmed to KTLA that the settlement was reached in an effort to avoid the cost of litigation. Disney also said the company goes to great lengths to ensure its hotel environments are safe and free of bug infestations.
Brian Virag, an Encino attorney specializing in bedbug-related cases, represented Eldridge in her lawsuit. He said bedbugs “don’t discriminate” and can be found in any hotel of any quality across the globe.
“Bedbug infestations are perhaps the most serious issue facing the hotel industry because of the harm they can do to a hotel’s reputation and brand,” Virag said in a news release.
The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court and was due to go to trial on April 8, but was settled prior to that date in March.
