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An Airbnb host in Florida rented a room to a guest who allegedly wouldn’t pay, refused to leave, then had him arrested on bogus assault charges when he tried to evict her, landing the homeowner in criminal court for nearly a year as he attempted to clear his name.
Eric Weaver, 60, is now suing Airbnb for “gross negligence” in what he says was the platform’s failure to properly vet his renter — who stiffed at least two other landlords in recent years and has an extensive criminal history, according to a lawsuit obtained by The Independent.
Weaver, a civil engineer with patents on, among other things, a rainwater-capture greenhouse and a “continuously moving sidewalk transport system,” says his nightmare began in early 2023, when he accepted an Airbnb reservation from Lauren Dawn Chehouri, 47.
Taking Airbnb at its word, Weaver relied on the company’s apparent promise to screen all guests, according to the suit.
“Specifically, when deciding whether a guest or host is suitable, Defendant performs a background check on the user by submitting identifying information to one of their approved background check providers who checks the person’s identity against public records or publicly available databases,” the lawsuit says.
So, on February 28, 2023, it says Weaver accepted Chehouri’s reservation to stay at his home for the month of March. (St. Petersburg all but prohibits short-term rentals for less than 30 days.)
But as March ended and April got underway, Chehouri was still living in Weaver’s house. Making matters worse, she owed Weaver nearly $4,000 in unpaid rent. On April 19, at a stalemate, Weaver told Chehouri she needed to leave, the lawsuit states.
However, Chehouri, “refusing to vacate the premises when asked to do so, falsely accused Mr. Weaver of battery,” the suit continues. “As a result of the false accusations, Mr. Weaver was arrested and forced to pay to defend himself in a court of law where he was found not guilty on February 6, 2024.”
The trumped-up charges also damaged Weaver’s earning potential on Airbnb, as he “no longer felt safe accepting guest referrals” from the platform after the hellish situation he had endured with Chehouri, according to the lawsuit.
“A subsequent review of court records revealed the Guest had an extensive criminal record, including two other eviction actions and two actions for delinquent payments on rent in Pinellas County, Florida,” the suit contends, arguing that Airbnb neglecting to apprise Weaver of Chehouri’s problematic past before letting him rent to her “constitutes a conscious disregard of the consequences.”
An Airbnb spokesperson declined to comment, citing active litigation. Chehouri could not be reached for comment. However, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told The Independent that Chehouri made the original reservation through Airbnb for one night, after which the two went off-platform to extend her stay, creating what they said was a third-party matter between Weaver and Chehouri.
Public records do show Chehouri has a lengthy rap sheet. A licensed practical nurse whose license expired in 2015, Chehouri was first arrested in 1993 for driving with improper plates on her car. She pleaded guilty in 1997 to DUI and possession of drug paraphernalia, pleaded guilty in 2002 to passing bad checks and another DUI, pleaded guilty again in 2018 to possession of paraphernalia, and pleaded no contest the following year to a petty theft charge, for which she was sentenced to 50 hours of community service and ordered to attend Shoplifters Anonymous meetings, court records show.
Chehouri failed to complete any of the requirements, and did not pay the mandated court fees, probation supervision fees, or drug testing fees, according to a 2022 probation violation affidavit filed in Pinellas County.
On the civil side, Chehouri has been evicted twice and was dragged into court in 2008 and 2016 for defaulting on her rent at properties in Bradenton and St. Petersburg.
Airbnb “had a duty to properly investigate potential guests, prior to recommending said guests to Mr. Weaver, to make sure said guests did not pose a threat or safety risk to others or themselves.”
Weaver is demanding Airbnb make good on $3,691.80 in rent Chehouri never paid, plus reimbursements for lost rental revenue and the cost of hiring a lawyer to defend himself in court against the phony battery charge. In all, Weaver wants Airbnb to fork over $414,694.45 in compensatory damages, plus $406,110.22 in punitive damages.
Airbnb has not yet filed a formal response to the allegations.
