The owners and operators of the Houston, Texas, DoubleTree, where an 8-year-old girl died within the plumbing of a lazy river, have denied all responsibility.
In its June 17 response to a multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed by the mother of Aliyah Jaico, Northwest Hospitality Services — one of the defendants named in the suit — denied all claims of wrongdoing.
The incident occurred on the afternoon of March 23, when 8-yearold Aliyah was swimming in the lazy river at the DoubleTree by Hilton with family members when she was suddenly sucked into an uncovered pipe that is a part of the circulation system.
More than 12 hours later, her body was discovered wedged at the end of a pipe near the pump.
“Her poor little body was contorted when she was sucked into this hole Entrap
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and pipe 20 feet back,” said Richard Nava, the family’s lawyer.
“Her body was inside of the motor when she had to be extracted. They had to break up concrete in order to extract her, cut pipe. It was absolutely horrific.”
Shortly after the incident, Aliyah’s mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the hotel’s owners and operators, naming multiple defendants, including the owners, operators, management companies, and builders of the hotel and swimming pools.
In the latest response to the lawsuit, Northwest Hospitality Services, the management company of the hotel, denied all charges. Rather, their answer to the complaint alleges that Aliyah and her family were at fault for the girl’s death.
“Northwest asserts that plaintiffs engaged in negligent acts and/or omissions that proximately caused the alleged injuries and damages,” the court document states.
Northwest is only the latest company affiliated with the hotel to deny all wrongdoing.
In its April response to the lawsuit, Unique Crown Hospitality, the owner of the Houston DoubleTree by Hilton, denied any claims, providing the identical statement that was given by Northwest: That the child and her family’s negligence resulted in her death.
Both Unique Crown and Northwest ask the court to find their damages reduced by the percentage of responsibility that should be assumed by Aliyah, her family, and other relevant third parties.
In their April responses to the lawsuit, Hilton Franchise and Hilton Worldwide also denied any responsibility “for want of personal jurisdiction.” The only connection Hilton Franchise has with the DoubleTree hotel, court papers claim, is a franchise agreement. Hilton Worldwide has an even more distant connection with the hotel because it is “merely a holding company that manages and issues stock.” The two companies ask that the charges against them be dismissed Because of a restraining order filed against the hotel, the pool area has remained closed since the incident and has not been fixed while plaintiffs continue to collect evidence.
Aliyah’s family is seeking 100 million dollars, claiming gross negligence. The next hearing in the case is scheduled to take place on August 22. A trial is scheduled to begin on Aug. 11, 2025.
