High court rejects appeal in suit over Frontier strike

Thursday, April 27, 2000 | 9:56 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court Wednesday dismissed the appeal of a man who sued the Frontier hotel-casino after he was beaten up by union pickets in 1993.

Sean White, who was visiting Las Vegas with his family, accused the Frontier of gross negligence in failing to divert guests away from the front entrance of the hotel and failing to alert them about the dangers of the pickets.

When the White family emerged from the hotel, one of the pickets from the Culinary Union made a disparaging remark to White's sister. A confrontation ensued and White suffered eye, neck and back injuries that he said resulted in medical bills totaling $80,000. He sued the hotel and its then owners, the Elardi family. He said the jury initially agreed to award him $250,000 but later changed its mind. The jury, according to court records, found White was more responsible for the injuries than the hotel.

The Supreme Court, in rejecting the appeal for a new trial, said White was "well aware" of the volatile situation after passing through the picket lines with his family.

"In the face of these conditions, he returned to a confrontational environment," the court said.

White claimed the jury was tainted because it discussed a newspaper report that he had received a $750,000 settlement from the union.

"The jurors should not have discussed the article, but we refuse to speculate upon the effect of the discussion of the newspaper article upon the mental processes of the jurors," the court said.

White also complained that District Judge Sally Loehrer improperly excluded from evidence the alleged provocative acts by the hotel owners against the union, including using a water cannon to douse striking workers, spreading horse manure near the workers' eating area and making harassing telephone calls to the strikers.

The court said the water cannon episode occurred months before White's altercation and the other incidents cited lacked relevance.