Doyle v. Walker, [1867] 26 Upper Canada Queen's Bench Rep. 502

The plaintiff traveled to Toronto to visit his company's head office. He and his family became guests in the defendant hotel, occupying two rooms. By September 18, he owed the hotel $83.25, a substantial sum at the time. He could not or would not pay and was asked to leave the hotel. He asked to remain in one of the two rooms so that his wife, who was ill, would not have to be moved. On September 21, he asked for his bill and received it at approximately 2:00 p.m. that day. The bill was delivered to him at his company's office by a clerk of the hotel. The bill was paid that same evening. However, on the morning of September 21, the hotel had entered the first of the plaintiff's rooms and had moved his belongings into the second room so that the next guest could move into the first room. The plaintiff sued the hotel for trespassing. At the trial, the jury awarded the plaintiff $100 on the basis that the hotel's actions amounted to an eviction that was unfair given the payment of the bill on the same day. The Court of Appeal overturned the trial decision and held that a hotel has the right to move a guest and his or her belongings to another room provided the actions are reasonable. In this case, the plaintiff was not being evicted, but simply moved into another room.

McLean v. University Club, 97 N.E. (2d) 174 (Mass., 1951)

McLean was a member of the University Club, which offered its members overnight privileges. From time to time, McLean availed himself of the accommodation and used the opportunity to drink heavily. On one such occasion, he mentioned to the staff that he was feeling ill. They discounted his claim, assuming that he was simply feeling the effects of the alcohol and did nothing to assist him. On the day McLean was scheduled to leave, the Club evicted him one hour before checkout time. For the next couple of days, he lived in his car, which was parked in the Club's parking lot, and was attended to by sympathetic staff members of the Club who brought him food and coffee. McLean sued the Club for breach of duty of care. The court agreed that the manner of the eviction had not been humane and decent and that it constituted a breach of the duty of care owed by the Club to its member guests. McLean would probably also have been successful had he chosen to sue for wrongful eviction.

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