Also known as: caupo · cauponis · cauponum · innkeeper
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Persons who keep inns or public lodging houses. They owe guests a duty to protect against unreasonable risks of physical harm.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Claire Campbell checked into a lakeside inn run by Carlos Castillo. While she slept, an intruder entered through an unsecured rear door that Castillo had failed to repair despite prior complaints. Campbell suffered injuries during the intrusion. Castillo's failure to maintain secure premises breached the special duty an innkeeper owes guests.
Carmen Choi arrived at Catherine Carter's inn seeking a room for the night. Carter refused service because Choi belonged to a disfavored racial group. Choi sued under state public-accommodation law. The refusal triggered liability because an innkeeper may not discriminate against members of the public entitled to lodging.
Cecilia Cabrera operated a small inn near a major rail line. State authorities imposed maximum rates under a statute treating inns as businesses affected with a public interest. Cabrera challenged the limits as unconstitutional. The court upheld the regulation because innkeepers, like other public-callings, may be subjected to reasonable price controls.
Curtis Cannon signed a registration card at Compass Logistics' roadside inn containing a clause releasing the inn from all liability for guest injuries. Cannon later slipped on a wet lobby floor caused by the inn's negligent maintenance. The clause was unenforceable because an innkeeper may not contract away its duty of care to guests.
Cypress Technologies purchased an aging inn and leased it to a new operator. A guest was injured when a balcony railing collapsed due to unrepaired rot that existed at purchase. The new owner was held liable because an innkeeper assumes the duty to inspect and correct known or discoverable hazards that endanger guests.
Citadel Security's motel refused rooms to African-American travelers despite vacancies and available rates. The travelers sued under federal civil-rights legislation. The motel was ordered to cease discrimination because an innkeeper operating in interstate commerce may not deny lodging on racial grounds.
Caupones, or innkeepers, owe guests a duty to protect against unreasonable risks of physical harm and to provide first aid when a guest is injured or ill.
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No. Exculpatory clauses that attempt to release an innkeeper from its duty of care to guests are unenforceable as against public policy.
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The duty applies to persons who enter the inn in response to its invitation to the public, even before formal registration, provided they intend to become guests.
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…As we have seen, 32 States prohibit racial discrimination in public accommodations. These laws but codify the common-law innkeeper rule which long predated the Thirteenth Amendment. It is difficult to believe that the Amendment was intended to abrogate this principle. Indeed, the opinion of the Court in the Civil…