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“HONEYMOON IN VEGAS: Lawsuit alleges excrement in bed

Virginian sues Strip hotel, says covers got `feces on my face'

By GLENN PUIT
REVIEW-JOURNAL

A Virginia man alleges in a lawsuit filed Thursday that human excrement was smeared on his face during his stay at a Strip hotel.

In a lawsuit filed in Clark County District Court, Milciades Cedano of Virginia Beach, Va., said he and his wife, Lavett Brown-Cedano, stayed at the Circus Circus hotel-casino in January 2004 on their honeymoon.

Cedano said that when he jumped into his bed in the honeymoon suite, he pulled the bed covers over his head and immediately noticed that a strange material from the covers had smeared over his face. He noticed a pungent smell.

"I was like, 'What the hell is this smell?' " Cedano said by phone from Virginia Beach. "It was a five- or six-inch diameter stain, and then it was on my nose. I got so mad."

Cedano called hotel supervisors and said he was mocked by hotel workers, who thought the incident was funny.

"I said, 'Look, like this isn't funny. I have someone else's feces on my face.' "

Cedano filed the lawsuit Thursday against Circus Circus and its parent company, Mandalay Bay Corp.

A spokesman for Circus Circus declined comment, citing a policy of not commenting on legal matters.

The lawsuit seeks at least $40,000 in damages and makes several claims, including negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

In a news release issued on the lawsuit, Cedano's attorney at times appeared to be making light of the situation.

"Certainly, they will never forget their honeymoon and can honestly say that they crapped out in Vegas," Levinson said in the news release.

Contacted Thursday, Levinson said the lawsuit is not a joke, the incident really happened, and he believes the couple is entitled to damages.

"This is 100 percent serious," Levinson said. "It's horrible. We wanted to poke a little fun at it, but it's serious."

In court documents filed by Levinson, the attorney said Mandalay officials have suggested to him that they think Cedano manufactured the incident to pursue a lawsuit.

That outraged Cedano during a phone interview.

"I would never put (excrement) on my face. ... I'm a grown man. I don't play with (excrement.)"

In the lawsuit, Levinson termed it "The Crappy Complaint."

The lawsuit repeated Cedano's claims that, after the incident, Cedano was mocked by hotel workers.

"The supervisor and others responded to what became known as the 'brown room,' but they acted as if the whole incident was funny, further demeaning, humiliating and injuring the plaintiffs," Levinson wrote.

Levinson said in the lawsuit that Cedano is suffering from a post-traumatic stress disorder because of the incident.

"These psychological damages, which naturally flow from such a 'fecetious' mishap, are increasing 'excrementally,' " Levinson wrote in the lawsuit.

When asked about the terminology he used in the lawsuit, Levinson said his client had read the lawsuit and approved of its contents.

Levinson said the "clever" tone of the lawsuit should not take away from the seriousness of the incident.

"No matter what happens, even if we are in front of a jury, they are going to think it's funny," Levinson said. "But it's not funny."

Levinson said he has been trying to reach a financial settlement with the hotel for months before filing the lawsuit.

Cedano said, "It's not funny at all. My lawyers know it's not funny."

Cedano, the manager of a retail store in Virginia Beach, said he suspects the prior occupant of the room went to the bathroom on the bed.

He said he and his wife are neat freaks, and the incident has left him and his wife traumatized.

"I go into my bed and try to go to bed ... and I picture that damned crap on my face," he said.

Cedano's lawsuit is scheduled to be heard by District Judge Valerie Adair, according to court records.”

“I'm attending a conference in Vegas the last week in July. I'll be ready to leave the city by Friday afternoon. I'd like to head to the Grand Canyon for a couple of days.

I have three months to plan for this. Lots of research to do. Maybe I'll post a trip later on.”