12 Ohio App. 210 | Ohio Ct. App. | 1919
This cause comes into this court on petition in error from the municipal court of 'the city of Cleveland, the relation of the parties being the same as in the court below, where D. Kanelles brought an action to recover the sum of $744, being the amount of money and valuables that he deposited with a man in charge of the Hotel Ohio, owned and operated by Mrs. Ida J. Locke, the defendant, in which action he failed.
We have gone over this bill of exceptions carefully, and it shows that this man who signed the receipt, J. C. .Clemens, was and had been for some
“Mr. D. Kanalos, Man in Room 111 Gave me 1 Diamond pin and $484.00 in bills and 2 $5.00 checks.
“Mrs. Locke
“Hotel Ohio
“per J. C. Clemens.”
During this' time the only person who appeared in charge of the office was this man Clemens. Whether Mrs. Locke had turned over the office to him to do these things we are not able to determine; but the fact remains that he was the only person there, apparently in charge of a public office that was receiving guests at that time in the morning or night, and that plaintiff became a guest and had a right to turn his valuables over to the hotel
It is claimed by the defendant that this man was not her agent and had no authority to receive valuables or do anything around the hotel, and that therefore she was not responsible for any money or valuables that might bé deposited with him. We can not acquiesce in this doctrine. An agency may be created by estoppel, and that estoppel may be allowed on the ground of negligence or fault on the part of the principal, upon the principle that when one of two innocent parties must suffer loss, the loss will fall on him whose conduct brought about the situation. 2 Corpus Juris, 462, and cases cited.
Here the proprietress of this hotel left this man in the office either designedly or negligently, clothed with apparent authority to do what hotel clerks usually do, and one who came in for the purpose of becoming a guest, and did become a guest, might reasonably conclude that he had apparent authority to do what clerks under similar circumstances would have a right to do.
In Curtis v. Murphy, 63 Wis., at page 4, we find this doctrine:
“A traveler who goes to a hotel at night and finds a clerk in charge of the office, assigning rooms, etc., has the right to assume that, such clerk represents the proprietor and has authority to take
And in that case the supreme court of Wisconsin held the hotelkeeper responsible under circumstances similar to those in the case at bar.
In 14 Ruling Case Law, 531, we find this doctrine :
“A delivery of goods to one not authorized to receive them is not a delivery to the innkeeper, but a person need not be expressly authorized to receive the property. A guest is justified in assuming that a clerk in charge of the office of the inn represents the proprietor and has authority to take charge of money which may be handed to him for safekeeping, and a deposit with an employee of the innkeeper, who, by his conduct and position in the hotel, leads one to infer'that he represents the innkeeper for the purpose of receiving property for safekeeping, is' deemed a deposit with the innkeeper for which he is responsible as such.”
Above authority cites many cases, among which is Houser v. Tully, 62 Pa. St., 92, where we find the doctrine laid down that an innkeeper is bound to pay for goods stolen in his house from a guest unless stolen by the servant or companion of the guest. And in the same case: “In case of a loss at an inn, the innkeeper is liable, although sick or absent.”
Again, in the same case:
“An innkeeper is not liable for the loss or embezzlement of his guest’s money when he does not deposit it on the security of the inn, but intrusts it to another guest or inmate in whom he reposes his confidence.”
But it is said that the defendant in this action was not an innkeeper within the meaning of the law of innkeepers, because, forsooth, the Ohio Hotel does not furnish food as well as lodging. We can not accede to this doctrine, for, if it were established, no hotel run under the European plan would come under the law of innkeepers, nor would it be liable for loss of goods delivered to a person apparently representing the hotel. It is true that early in the history of law an innkeeper furnished all sorts of entertainment, including liquid entertainment, and food especially; but the modern custom of conducting hotels would necessarily create a departure from the rigid doctrine of the early law cases.
In the case at bar Mrs. Locke, the defendant, had complied with all the requirements of the statute to relieve innkeepers from liability by posting the notices required by law, and we think that she was
Judgment revérsed, and cause remanded.