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Philly Wedding Fight Attorney Questioning Mishandling by Sheraton Society Hill

October 19, 2012 at 10:04 AM | by | Comments (0)

A little over a week ago we showed you the brawl that went down between two wedding parties in the lobby of Philly's Sheraton Society Hill. It was a tragic event that resulted in the death of a 57-year-old man reported to be one of the bride's uncles, and it sure as hell ruined what was supposed to be a beautiful day for four families. While it pales in comparison to the passing of a man who is believed to have been an innocent bystander, we are curious as to what, if anything, the hotel has done for those guests who may have been disturbed or disrupted by the 100-person brouhaha. As you can see from the photo below, the lobby eerily looks like an arena, the corridors in front of the rooms all looking down over it.

Our e-mails to the hotel requesting comment on this matter haven't been returned, so we went on foot yesterday to see if we could get some answers. We were directed by the front desk staff to Susan Carney, the Director of Human Resources, who entertained our questions but declined to make a statement. Due to an on-going investigation, she said the hotel didn't plan on making one anytime soon.Yes, things are getting complicated.

More details are coming out of the woodwork. Two men have been charged - one with a felony - but now there are rumors swirling that an attorney is calling into question the hotel's responsibility for the fight's occurrence and its subsequent reaction to its aftermath.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Dino Privitera, the lawyer for the family of the man who passed, Vincent Sannuti, said they were not considering litigation at this time. He did, however, put out a press release that brought up concerns about the hotel's handling of the situation.

A news release from his office highlights several concerns the family has about how the situation was handled, including whether Sannuti received "prompt and adequate medical care" and whether the hotel had "grossly overserved and grossly undersecured an unruly and drunken crowd of guests" from the other wedding party. Privitera declined to go into detail about the allegations, except to say that there was "an inordinate amount of time" between when an ambulance was called for Sannuti and when one arrived. He also said that based on interviews with guests, there may have been a defibrillator at the hotel that was not working.

Sounds like the incident is far from finished for the hotel. We will be sure to keep a close eye on this one as it goes forward.

[Photos: CBS News (via YOUTUBE) and Hotel Chatter]

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