PORTLAND, Maine — The family of a woman who fell off a cliff in Scarborough last year is suing the Black Point Inn for $1 million.
In September last year, Romona Gowens of Georgia fell 30 feet to her death at Prouts Neck.
She, her sister and daughter were staying at the Black Point Inn at the time.
Police say Gowens went off the main trail on the Prouts Neck cliff walk and leaned against a fence before falling to the rocks below.
The inn doesn’t own the cliff walk, but the trail is featured as one of Black Point Inn’s amenities on its website.
In a lawsuit filed Monday, attorneys say the inn has an easement on the stretch of path where Gowens fell.
Attorneys argue the Black Point Inn doesn’t warn guests about the dangers of the cliff walk and that the fence wasn’t properly inspected
On the trail’s website, it says, “The cliff walk is not a manicured or flat path…” and “It can be quite dangerous walking…”
In a statement to the CBS13 I-Team, the owners of the Black Point Inn call Gowens’ death a “terrible tragedy” and write, “The cliff walk is controlled by the ‘Prouts Neck Improvement Association.’ It is unfortunate that there has been a complaint brought against us in this matter.”
The lawsuit is asking for $750,000 in funeral and medical costs as well as emotional suffering and $250,000 in punitive damages.
