How to Ruin a Mexican Vacation

HOUSTON (CN) - A U.S. tourist claims in court that a video camera he placed in his Mexican hotel room caught a Holiday Inn worker masturbating onto his clothes - and that the hotel manager overcharged him, too.

Manuel Higuera sued Holiday Inn Express & Suites Irapuato in Harris County Court.

Irapuato, pop. 400,000, is south of the state capital Guanajuato. Both are Colonial era towns that appeal to tourists.

Higuera says he made reservations at the hotel to visit friends in the area just before Christmas, 2010.

"The plaintiff was given room 121 for his three-day stay," the complaint states. "When he arrived, he called the front desk to request that a heater be brought up to the room as the hotel did not have them built into the rooms.

"The next morning, Higuera left the Holiday Inn at noon to visit his friends near Irapuato. Before leaving, he left a digital monitor running to ensure the safety and well-being of his personal belongings which were left in the room. About two hours after he left, a hotel employee, Mr. Luis Mendoza Cordero, entered room 121 with the stated purpose of setting up the heater that was requested the previous night.

"Cordero remained in the room for about fifteen minutes. While he was there, he rummaged through everything in the room, removing the plaintiff's items from the dresser and going through the plaintiff's items in the closet. Cordero then opened and looked through the room safe, presumably with a default code then unknown to the plaintiff. After he had gone through all of the plaintiff's personal belongings, Cordero then returned to the dresser containing the undergarments of the plaintiff and ejaculated into the clothing. When he was finished, Cordero washed up in the restroom and left room 121."

The next day, Higuera says, "after sleeping in the room and using his belongings," he watched the tape, then "immediately called the hotel manager and reported the incident. The plaintiff also gave the hotel manager a copy of the video recording."

Higuera claims the manager told him that Cordero had worked for the Holiday Inn for 2 years.

"On December 22, 2010, the plaintiff requested a copy of the incident report made by the manager the previous day," the complaint states. "The manager refused to give plaintiff a copy. As a result, the plaintiff filed a complaint with Holiday Inn Guest Relations that evening.

"On December 23, 2010, the plaintiff contacted the police and made a report. After the police interviewed the manager, the plaintiff learned that Cordero was known to have mental health issues and was seeking or undergoing treatment at that time. Upon arriving back in Texas, the plaintiff learned that his room had been charged at a higher rate by the manager than his receipts listed as the actual daily rate of the room.

"As a result of the above, the plaintiff's personal belongings were lost, he was fraudulently overcharged for the room, and he was forced to suffer extreme emotional distress for several years, continuing today."

Higuera seeks damages for breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent hiring, negligent supervision and deceptive trade. He also wants at least $2,500 for damages to his property.

He is represented by Richard Parker with Parker Allen of Houston.

Follow @cam_langford

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