143 So. 263 | La. | 1932
In December, 1928, plaintiff and his wife were guests at defendant's hotel. The wife withdrew from her bank box and deposited with the hotel, two diamond rings of the value of $2,500. The hotel had an iron safe with one general compartment, in which its own cash and valuables were kept, and ten individual lock boxes. At the time of the deposit, *280 the ten individual lock boxes were in use by other guests, and hence the rings were sealed in an envelope, for which a receipt was given, and placed in the general compartment of the safe.
Thereafter no further thought was given to the rings by either plaintiff or defendant, and they remained as deposited until six months thereafter.
One night in July five masked bandits, armed with pistols and shotguns, entered the lobby and office of the hotel, where the night clerk was busy with his books and cash, and under threats of death forced the night clerk and night elevator man to face the wall whilst they rifled the safe of its contents. Incidentally, they also overpowered and disarmed a police officer who happened to come in whilst they were thus occupied.
At the time of the robbery the outer doors of the safe were pushed to, but not locked; and on this circumstance plaintiff relies to recover from defendant the value of the rings thus deposited, claiming that the safe was not properly protected by locking, but negligently left open at an unreasonable hour of the night.
The trial judge held with him, and defendant has appealed.
Thus, the statute (as now incorporated in the Revised Civil Code), reads as follows:
"Art. 2968. Every landlord or keeper of a public inn or hotel, shall be required to provide with an iron chest or other safe deposit for valuable articles belonging to his guests or customers, and each landlord or hotel keeper shall keep posted upon his doors and other public places in his house of entertainment, written or printed notices to his guests and customers that they must leave their valuables with the landlord, his agent or clerk, for safe keeping, that he may make safe deposit of the same in the place provided for that purpose.
"Art. 2969. Every landlord, hotel or inn keeper who shall comply with the requirements of the preceding articles, shall not be liable for any money, jewelry, watches, plate, or other things made of gold or silver, or of *282 rare and precious stones, or for other valuable articles of such description as may be contained in small compass, which may be abstracted or lost from any such public inn or hotel, if the same shall not be left with the landlord, his clerk or an agent, for deposit, unless such loss shall occur through the fraud or negligence of the landlord, or some clerk or servant employed by him in such inn or hotel; provided, however, that the provisions of this article shall not apply to a wearing watch, or such other articles of jewelry as are ordinarily worn about the person."
R.C.C. art. 2966. "An innkeeper is responsible for the effects brought by travelers, even though they were not delivered into his personal care, provided, however, they were delivered to a servant or person in his employment."
R.C.C. art. 2967. "He is responsible if any of the effects be stolen or damaged, either by his servants or agents, or by strangers going and coming in the inn."
But there is this limitation upon the liability of an innkeeper in this state, which was unknown to the common law, where not modified by statute, that:
R.C.C. art. 2970. "He is not responsible for what is stolen by force and arms, or with exterior breaking open of doors, or by any other extraordinary violence."
For at common law, "the preponderating weight of authority, from the time of the decision in Calye's Case, 8 Coke, 32, * * * is in favor of the rule that he [the innkeeper] *283
is * * * an insurer * * * against everything but the act of God, or the public enemy, or the neglect or fraud of the owner of the property, * * * [and hence] liable for a loss occasioned * * * [even] by robbery or burglary from without, * * * or by rioteers or mobs." Pinkerton v. Woodward,
And here we come squarely to the question of negligence vel non on the part of the landlord as an ordinary bailee.