Mary DiFederico v. Marriott International, Inc., 677 F. App'x 830

Background

Guest Albert DiFederico was killed in the September 20, 2008 terrorist bombing of the Marriott Islamabad; 56 people died and 265 were injured.
The Islamabad was a franchised Marriott hotel owned/operated by Hashwani, Inc.; Marriott International was the franchisor but did not manage day-to-day operations.
The truck bomb crashed into the hotel’s Delta gate barrier, then exploded; the hotel’s security staff treated the initial incident as an automobile fire and did not alert guests.
Plaintiffs (DiFederico’s family) sued Marriott for wrongful death, alleging Marriott exercised sufficient control over the Islamabad’s security protocols (the instrumentality causing death); Hashwani was not named as a defendant.
Marriott required franchisees to follow written Standards, sent non-mandatory Crisis/International Plans for guidance, and audited compliance with a limited yes/no checklist twice yearly, but did not hire, train, or approve the Islamabad’s security staff or review its local crisis plan.
The district court granted summary judgment for Marriott, finding insufficient control; the Fourth Circuit affirmed, applying Pakistani substantive law (lex loci delicti) but noting material parity with Maryland law on franchisor liability.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Marriott can be liable as franchisor for control of the instrumentality (security protocols) that caused death	Marriott exercised sufficient control over Islamabad’s security (standards, plans, audits, communications) to make it liable	Marriott only set minimum brand Standards, provided non-mandatory Plans, performed limited audits, and did not hire/train or direct local security; control remained with Hashwani	Marriott did not exercise sufficient control over the instrumentalities that caused the death; summary judgment for Marriott affirmed
Whether Marriott’s distribution of non-mandatory Plans and Standards created a duty to implement specific security measures	Distribution and Standards established effective control and required implementation	Plans are guidance for franchisees; mandatory requirements are limited to the Standards; Marriott did not require or approve the Islamabad’s local plan	Non-mandatory Plans and limited Standards/audits do not establish control or duty to operate local security procedures
Whether Marriott’s post-attack site review/email or public testimony creates a triable issue on pre-attack control	Post-attack communications and organizational statements (e.g., "our security measures") show Marriott had operational control before the attack	Post-attack materials and generalized statements do not show pre-attack operational control or authority over local security actions	Post-attack email/testimony did not create a genuine issue of fact about pre-attack control
Whether Marriott’s biannual audits created control over specific safety measures that caused the injury	Audits demonstrate Marriott monitored and controlled compliance, implying operational control	Audits were limited checklists verifying presence of a plan and basic items; Marriott did not review or approve the local plan or train staff	Limited compliance audits were insufficient to confer control over the instrumentalities that led to the death

Key Cases Cited

Allen v. Choice Hotels Int’l, Inc., 409 F. Supp. 2d 672 (D.S.C. 2006) (franchisor’s requiring minimum safety equipment and making recommendations does not establish liability for franchisee’s operational choices)
Roe v. Doe, 28 F.3d 404 (4th Cir. 1994) (standard of review for summary judgment; draw inferences for the nonmoving party)
DiFederico v. Marriott Int’l, Inc., 714 F.3d 796 (4th Cir. 2013) (prior interlocutory appellate ruling in the same litigation addressing forum non conveniens and choice-of-law principles)
Stenlund v. Marriott Int’l, Inc., 172 F. Supp. 3d 874 (D. Md. 2016) (limited franchisor audits and subsidiarity do not by themselves establish control over franchisee’s operational instrumentalities)