Wassell v. Adams

Facts

The Plaintiff, Susan Marisconish (later Wassell), became engaged to Michael Wassell. Michael joined the navy and was sent to a naval training station for basic training. The couple planned to get married once he completed naval training. Michael’s graduation from basic training was scheduled for a Friday and the Plaintiff and Michael’s parents traveled together to attend it. The Plaintiff and his parents checked into a double room at a motel owned by the Defendants, Wilbur and Florena Adams. The motel was small and expensive and charged a maximum of $36 a night for a double room. Four blocks to the west of the motel is a high-crime area. The Defendants would occasionally warn women guests not to walk alone at night in the area. The Defendants did not warn the Wassells or the Plaintiff.

The Plaintiff ended up moving to a single room at the motel after the Wassells left. She stayed behind to look for apartments where she and Michael could live once they were married. On Sunday evening she left the motel to look at an apartment. When she returned, she locked the door, secured the chain, and went to sleep. She was later woken up by a knock on the door and saw from the clock that it was 1:00 am. She looked through the peephole of the door but did not see anyone. Although there was a pane of clear glass next to the door, she did not look through it. The Plaintiff unlocked the two locks on the door, undid the chain, and opened the door all the way. She thought that it would be her fiancé coming home from the base. However, it was not her fiancé and was a man she had never seen before. Th man asked for “Cindy” and when she told him that there was no Cindy there, he asked for a glass of water. The Plaintiff went to the bathroom to get a glass of water and when she came back out, the man raped her.