Widow sues Dillard House after husband dies

Shortly after a three-day stay at the Dillard House mountain resort, Stuart Hecht took ill. A month later, he was dead.

A wrongful death lawsuit filed by Hecht’s widow alleges that her 60-year-old husband contacted Legionnaire’s Disease at the north Georgia resort and died because of it.

The Dillard House also knew or should have known about the dangerous conditions at its guest house and failed to issue proper warnings about it, the lawsuit contends. The suit, filed in federal court in Gainesville, seeks unspecified damages.

Clayton lawyer Cecil Davis Bauman, who represents the Dillard House, said on Tuesday that the resort has investigated the cabin where Hecht stayed and found no evidence of any contamination that could cause Legionnaire’s Disease.

“We are certainly sympathetic to this poor gentleman,” Bauman said. “We are taking this very seriously and doing everything we can to determine what facts did exist. We have uncovered nothing that indicates any liability problem on the part of the Dillard House.”

The Dillard House, located in Rabun County at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, is a well-run business, Bauman said.

“They were in complete compliance with every health department regulation we’re aware of and had passed every inspection,” he said. “All of our investigation to date does not indicate any issue at all with regard to contamination.”

Stuart and Madeline Hecht, of Jacksonville, checked into Eddie’s Cabin at the Dillard House on July 6, 2008, and returned home three days later. Hecht was diagnosed with Legionnaire’s Disease shortly after going to a hospital emergency room on July 17. He soon suffered upper respiratory failure and a stroke, never fully regained consciousness, and died Aug. 8, the lawsuit says.

Shortly after Madeline Hecht filed suit, both parties agreed to allow testing to be conducted at Eddie’s Cabin. On Sept. 12, a temporary restraining order was issued, closing the cabin.

On Nov. 7, lawyers for Dillard House asked the restraining order be lifted. “No harmful bacteria were found by either party” at the cabin, the resort’s court motion said. The tests “show that no harm can be shown to the public and [Dillard House] should be allowed the full use and enjoyment of their property.”

Senior U.S. District Court Judge William C. O’Kelley granted the request on Dec. 9, allowing the cabin to be reopened and rented once again.

Separately, the Dillard House’s insurer, Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Co., recently filed its own complaint, seeking a court order relieving it from paying any damages that may arise from the Hechts’ lawsuit.

Nationwide Mutual’s suit said that its insurance policy with the Dillard House excludes coverage for defending suits seeking damages for bodily injury caused by fungi or bacteria.