A man has filed a lawsuit against a hotel in Chicago’s Near North neighborhood, claiming that he was attacked by bed bugs in two separate rooms while staying there over the summer.
Allen Brown said he was staying at the Courtyard Marriott Chicago Downtown/River North hotel, located at 30 E. Hubbard St. on August 16, when he suffered “numerous bed bug bites” in his sleep, according to the lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court on Dec. 27.
Brown notified hotel staff that he had been bitten by bed bugs, according to the lawsuit, at which point he was moved to a second room in the hotel – where he was bitten by more bed bugs.
The suit against the Courtyard Management Corporation and Marriott Hotel Services, Inc. claims that the hotel rented rooms to guests knowing the rooms were infested, failed to conduct a reasonable inspection of its rooms, and failed to provide pest control services.
Brown seeks $50,000 plus court costs and attorney fees through the lawsuit, according to the complaint.
The suit was filed just days before the annual ranking of “Top 50 Bed Bug Cities” was released, with Chicago dropping from the top spot for the first time in five years.
Pest control company Orkin reports the city moved down two spots for 2016 to take third behind Baltimore and Washington, D.C., when it comes to bed bug infestations.
The Courtyard Marriott did not immediately respond to request for comment.
