Hotel not liable for crash three hours after man's eviction

"A negligence claim against the Marriott Marquis by a New Year's Eve reveler who was injured in an automobile accident after being evicted from the Times Square hotel has been dismissed by a federal judge in Albany. ... [After being told to leave the hotel, Jeffrey Dagen] retrieved his pickup truck and headed for his home in the Albany area. Three hours later, after driving about 90 miles north on the Taconic Parkway without stopping to rest or seek lodging, Dagen decided to exit for gas. As he did so, his truck skidded off the exit ramp and hit a tree. He sued the hotel for $750,000, claiming it was responsible for his injuries, which included a shattered leg and damage to his chest. In his complaint, Dagen alleged that he had told hotel officials that he had nowhere to go, was too tired to drive home and had been drinking." A state trooper's report indicated that Dagen had been speeding on the Taconic and had tried to exit too fast given wet road conditions. (Daniel Wise, "Eviction From Hotel Found Not Cause of New Year's Accident", New York Law Journal, Apr. 22).