Hyatt Ordered to Pay $177 Million After Security Guard Sexually Assaults Hotel Guest
The Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a $177 million jury verdict against Hyatt after a security guard — hired without a background check that would have revealed prior sexual misconduct arrests — assaulted a guest in her room.
By 411 Press Newsroom3 min read
Shannon Dugan was a sheriff's deputy from New Jersey. She traveled to St. Louis in 2016 to attend a crime investigation seminar at Washington University. She stayed at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch.
A colleague who could not reach Dugan by phone asked the hotel to check on her. Hyatt sent security guard David A. White to her room. White sexually assaulted Dugan while she was in her room.
White had a documented history of arrests related to sexual misconduct. Hyatt did not uncover this during its hiring process.
A jury awarded Dugan $177 million: $28 million in compensatory damages and $149 million in punitive damages. In 2025, the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the verdict in full.
With accrued interest, the total owed by Hyatt now exceeds $213 million.
What the Court Found
The Court of Appeals identified two categories of failure.
Negligent hiring. Hyatt hired White as a security guard without conducting a background check that would have revealed his prior arrests for sexual misconduct. A security guard has access to guest rooms, master keys, and information about which rooms are occupied. The duty to screen for violent or predatory behavior in that role is not optional.
Post-assault obstruction. After the assault, Hyatt refused to cooperate with law enforcement. The company failed to provide crucial evidence during the investigation. The court cited this post-assault conduct as a factor supporting the punitive damages award.
The punitive-to-compensatory ratio of roughly 5.3-to-1 survived appellate review. The court found the ratio justified given the severity of the misconduct and the defendant's post-incident behavior.
The Negligent Hiring Problem
Hotels employ security guards and give them access to the most private spaces in their properties — guest rooms where people sleep. The duty to screen these employees for criminal history, particularly for offenses involving violence or sexual misconduct, is a foundational security obligation.
The Hyatt case is not an outlier. Hotel security negligence cases involving assault, robbery, and sexual violence by employees or third parties produce some of the largest verdicts in premises liability law. The average jury verdict in hotel negligent security cases exceeds $1 million. Cases involving sexual assault trend significantly higher.
The common denominator: properties that fail to perform basic security measures — background checks, camera systems, key access controls, adequate staffing — and guests who pay the price.
What Hotel Guests Should Know
If you are assaulted at a hotel, report the incident to law enforcement immediately. Document your injuries. Preserve any physical evidence. Request a copy of the incident report from the hotel.
A hotel may be liable for your injuries if it failed to conduct adequate background checks on employees, failed to maintain reasonable security measures, or knew about prior security failures and did not correct them.
For more on negligent security claims, read the 411 Press negligent security guide.
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