Case filed against Kandy Hotel Company PLC for “breach of duty of care”
View(s):A case has been filed against the Kandy Hotels Company PLC by Mr. M.D.H. Wahid, proprietor of the Tourist Shopping Centre, a boutique shop operating within Hotel Swiss Kandy claiming damages from the company for its failure to provide sufficient security for the property of the plaintiff consequent to which a robbery of gems and jewellery of the plaintiff amounting to Rs.4.1 million took place.
The case was filed in the District Court of Kandy.
According to the plaint, the robbery has taken place in the plaintiff’s boutique shop which is situated in the second floor of the hotel. The plaintiff and his employees were not allowed to remain in the premises after 11 pm as the defendant company had undertaken to provide security to the premises by itself. Accordingly, the plaintiff relied on the Defendant for the security and protection of his property specifically during the hours from 11 pm to 8 am.
“However, the robbery of the boutique shop which is inside the hotel premises has taken place during the night of September 3,, 2017 while it was still under the care of the defendant company,” the plaint said.
Consequent to the robbery, a police investigation has been commenced into the matter, but the plaintiff alleged that the proceedings have slowed down due to the lack of cooperation of the defendant, who is in possession of the security details of the premises.
Accordingly, the plaintiff, frustrated by the long inaction and lack of interest and cooperation of the defendant due to whose security failure, the robbery took place, was left with no other option but to file a case to recover the damages and losses he suffered by the robbery of his valuable goods.
The plaintiff has been the lawful statutory tenant of the defendant for over five decades. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant on numerous prior occasions has attempted to evict the plaintiff from the hotel premises by unlawful means consequent to which the plaintiff has made several complaints to the Kandy Police and further instituted a case in the Magistrate’s Court of Kandy (case number 45692) and in the District Court of Kandy (case number DSP 9/2018).
In both the said cases, the court has recognised the rights of the plaintiff as the lawful tenant of the defendant. The defendant has further undertaken before court to refrain from any interference with the peaceful operation of the plaintiff’s business within the hotel premises.