The owners of the Queen Mary Hotel are being sued by a couple who say they were bitten by bed bugs during a stay last year.
According to the complaint filed Feb. 13 in Los Angeles Superior Court against Urban Commons Queensway LLC and Evolution Hospitality LLC, Rosemarie and Joseph Libertelli were "mauled" by bed bugs at the Queen Mary Hotel in February 2018.
A Queen Mary representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The Libertellis endured severe pain and suffering from the bed bug attack and sustained physical, emotional and financial injuries as a result of unknowingly rented the bug-infested room at the Long Beach hotel and tourist attraction, the suit alleges.
The New York couple, who were staying at the hotel while visiting California and preparing to go on a cruise, are seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
"This was a situation where two unsuspecting people trusted the Queen Mary and were betrayed," said the couple's lawyer, Brian Virag, who alleged that the hotel was aware of complaints of bedbugs from previous guests.
Rosemarie Libertelli was bitten throughout her body, including, her face, ears, neck, hands fingers, arms and back, causing her to have a severe allergic reaction that required her hospitalization, the suit states. Her husband sustained numerous bedbug bites all over his body, according to the suit.
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"Bed bugs don't discriminate, they don't check TripAdvisor before they attack," Virag said. "They are found in hotels throughout the country and worldwide. Bed bug infestation in hotels have reached an epidemic
proportion and is perhaps the most serious issue facing the hotel industry, because of the harm to a hotel's reputation and brand."
