NEW ORLEANS – A Jefferson Parish family of three is suing The Walt Disney Co. after finding bedbugs in their hotel room.
Ashley, Robert and Carter LaCombe filed a lawsuit on Aug. 14 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against the entertainment company, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, and Walt Disney Travel Co. claiming that the bugs caused the family health problems.
The LaCombes alleged that between April 2-7 they stayed at the Disney Hotel in Orlando, Florida, where they started to feel "significant skin irritation, redness, itching, and/or swelling, which resulted in trouble sleeping, pain, and distress," as the complaint showed. At that time, the family was not sure of what was causing the problems.
Also stated on the complaint, after returning home from the vacation, the LaCombe family "learned that the numerous skin irritations, redness, itching, and/or swelling were the result of exposure to and bites by numerous bedbugs in the Disney Hotel."
They notified Walt Disney Hotels, which confirmed the presence of bedbugs in the hotel.
After returning home, the family continued to feel the symptoms of the bugs, and learned that those "traveled with the LaCombes on their luggage, clothing, and personal belongings, infesting their home in Louisiana."
An exterminating company was called to the LaCombe's house, confirming that the house was infested by the bedbugs. The issue, as per the complaint, continued, causing distress, as the family "cannot not enjoy their home; family members and friends cannot visit due to the risk of acquiring the bedbug infestation."
The house had to be evacuated for extermination, but that was not enough to solve the problem.
"Professional treatment of the LaCombe home has not been completely successful, and additional treatment is and continues to be necessary to rid their home of bedbugs," the complaint said, mentioning that the family "had to dispose of furniture and personal property, at great expense."
The LaCombes have been going through medical treatment and have been losing businesses due to the bedbug infestation.
They are seeking damages in the excess of $75,000, as well as compensation for pain and suffering, property losses, lost wages, court costs, and attorney's fees. Ashley, Robert, and Carter LaCombe are represented by Jonathan Cook, Sara Lewis, and J. Clark McMillan of Wall, Bullington & Cook, LLC, of Harahan. No judge has been assigned yet.
The U.S. Court for the Eastern District for the Eastern District of Louisiana Case No. is 2:18-cv-07689-CJB-DEK.