Federal Lawsuit Targets Resort, Companies After Three Americans Die in Belize

Nearly a year after three young women from Revere, Massachusetts, were found dead at a resort in Belize, their families are going to court. The relatives of Wafae El Arar, Imane Mallah, and Kaoutar Naqqad have filed a federal lawsuit against the Royal Kahal Beach Resort, and a web of companies connected to their stay, demanding answers and accountability. The women were found in their resort suite after staff couldn’t reach them for two days. While early reports blamed a medical condition, toxicology tests later revealed deadly carbon monoxide poisoning. The lawsuit targets the resort’s Canadian owners, Belizean contractors who installed the gas system, the U.S. manufacturer of a water heater, and the online booking platforms used to reserve the trip. Attorneys say the defendants marketed the resort to U.S. travelers, did business in Massachusetts, and failed to warn guests about known safety risks. The families addressed the lawsuit at a press briefing in Massachusetts this morning.

 

Tom Scolaro, Attorney-at -Law

“ The resort itself and the authorities hastily suggested that drugs were to blame, a conclusion that wrongly shifted the suspicion onto the victims themselves. That narrative was later conclusively disproven when official findings confirmed that carbon monoxide poisoning was the sole cause of death. While the truth is now clear, the focus today is on what happens next. We fully expect the defendants in this case to argue that this case should be pushed out of a US court and into a forum where accountability is sharply limited from the family’s perspective. That would reflect an effort to escape and severely limit meaningful responsibility for preventable loss of life. In Massachusetts, a jury composed of Massachusetts citizens can fully consider the value of human life and impose punitive damages for reckless conduct In Belize where this incident occurred, wrongful death awards are decided by a judge, largely limited only to economic loss. Which could in most situations be zero. Punitive damages are not available. Meaningful accountability depends on the form in which justice is sought. Let me be clear about what happens next. This case will test whether companies at profit from American consumers can be held to account when preventable tragedies occur. Or whether they can avoid all responsibility by hiding behind borders and technicalities.”

Attorneys for the families say this case will now test whether companies that profit from American travelers can be held responsible here at home, or whether they can dodge accountability by hiding behind borders after a preventable tragedy.