A San Francisco Superior Court judge has denied Airbnb’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the company by the parents of a teenager who died in August 2021 after being shot at a party at a Sunnyvale, California, home rented through Airbnb. According to an article by ACCESSWIRE, the case – Elhania v. Airbnb, Inc. – is the first in the country in which Airbnb may be held legally liable for the death of a victim in a shooting at an Airbnb party. Such cases are more common than one might think. In the past 30 days, injuries and deaths from “shootings” at Airbnb parties have been reported in Utah, Alabama, Texas and Georgia.
Previously, Airbnb was able to dismiss the case on the grounds that it could not be held liable because injuries at parties were not foreseeable and Airbnb is merely a platform that connects renters with property owners. So what makes the case stand this time? The fact that Airbnb violated the local city ordinance regulating short-term rentals, which was specifically designed to protect against the type of harm suffered by 18-year-old Elias Elhania. Those violations include the fact that it was an illegal short-term rental, the owner was not on-site for the entire stay, and Airbnb rented the apartment to an unaccompanied minor.
ACCESSWIRE reports: “Airbnb argued at the hearing that it was impossible for Airbnb to determine or comply with applicable laws because it operates in many cities, counties, and countries, all of which have different laws. Airbnb also argued that the local law regulating short-term rentals did not apply to Airbnb, only to the property owners.” The judge disagreed, ruling “that Airbnb can be held legally liable… if the short-term rental violated a local ordinance designed to protect the public health, safety, or welfare from improper conduct.”
As this case plays out in court against Airbnb and the owner, it’s worth keeping an eye on, especially as cities and counties across the United States fight to enforce short-term rental rules to minimize the industry’s negative impact on local communities. To date, Airbnb has had little incentive to work with local authorities to ensure that short-term rental owners doing business through their platform comply with local regulations. If they can be held liable for deaths or injuries during short-term rentals through their platform that violate local ordinances designed to prevent these public safety threats, it could be a game-changer.
