Former Director At Upscale South Bay Hotel Claims He was Ordered To Dump Waste

LOS ANGELES, CA — A former engineering director for an upscale San Pedro hotel has agreed to arbitrate his lawsuit claims against his ex- employers, in which he alleges he was wrongfully fired in 2023 in retaliation in part for resisting a supervisor's order that he dump wastewater from the facility into a nearby storm drain.

Reginald Viray's Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit names as defendants multiple entities who employed him, including Aimbridge Hospitality LLC and Interstate Rim Management Co. Viray's actual worksite was the Doubletree San Pedro hotel.

Judge Gary D. Roberts signed an order on Friday enforcing the parties' mutual agreement to the binding arbitration of Viray's allegations and he placed a stay on the lawsuit pending the outcome. The defense will pay the costs of the arbitration, will take place before retired Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Lisa Hart Cole.

In their previous court papers, defense attorneys denied Viray's allegations and said the plaintiff was discharged for "legitimate, independent reasons."

According to Viray's lawsuit, he was hired as engineering director at the hotel at 2800 Via Cabrillo-Marina and that same month he learned that a water leak was causing contaminated water to pour into the hotel's basement. The suit further states that in response the hotel general manager told Viray to organize a team to pump the water out and dump it into a nearby storm drain.

"Plaintiff was shocked to hear that someone in (the general manager's) position was demanding that plaintiff commit an illegal act," the suit states.

Viray told the general manager he was concerned about the order and explained to him that going under the hotel to pump the water would be dangerous and that workers would be exposed to mold and fumes from the contaminated water without proper ventilation, according to the suit.

The general manager told Viray in response that the hotel had been dumping water in the storm drain "for a while" and that the plaintiff must do so as well, the suit states. Viray complied for three months, but by June 2023 he told the general manager he could no longer do so, according to the suit, which further states that the general manager told the other workers to continue with the practice anyway.

From June to August 2023, Viray also complained to the general manager about the need for more security cameras and guards due to recent burglaries and other criminal activities in the hotel and surrounding areas, but his requests were ignored, the suit states.

The general manager, who also was upset that Viray reported water had accumulated at the base of an elevator and was also angry that the plaintiff had also expressed concern that uneven floors in some rooms could reflect on the integrity of the hotel's foundation, told Viray he "needed people he can trust," the suit states.

Viray was terminated in October 2023 and was told it was due to a "lack of effort and unsatisfactory performance," the suit filed April 25 states.

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