ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd nˈaɪnti sˈɛvən, ðə hoʊtˈɛlz kəlˈæps bɪkˌeɪm ðə sˈʌbdʒɛkt əvə sɪɡnˈɪfɪkənt kˈoːɹt kˈeɪs ɪn ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ sˈɪvəl lˈɔː hˈɑːlbɛk hˈɔːl hoʊtˈɛl lˈɪmɪɾᵻd vˈiː skˈɑːɹbəɹˌoʊ bˌiːsˈiː wɛn ðɪ ˈoʊnɚz ʌvðə hoʊtˈɛl ɐtˈɛmptᵻd tə sˈuː skˈɑːɹbəɹˌoʊ bˈʌɹoʊ kˈaʊnsəl fɔːɹ dˈæmɪdʒᵻz, ɐlˈɛdʒɪŋ ðæt æz ˈoʊnɚz ʌvðə ʃˈoːɹlaɪn ðeɪ hæd nˌɑːt tˈeɪkən ˌɛni pɹˈæktɪkəl mˈɛʒɚz æɾ ˈɔːl tə pɹɪvˈɛnt ðə lˈændslɪp fɹʌm sˈɔft, tə hˈɑːɹd ˌɛndʒɪnˈɪɹɪŋ, nˈʌθɪŋ wʌz dˈʌn.
In 1997, the hotel's collapse became the subject of a significant court case in English civil law (Holbeck Hall Hotel Ltd v Scarborough BC) when the owners of the hotel attempted to sue Scarborough Borough Council for damages, alleging that as owners of the shoreline they had not taken any practical measures at all to prevent the landslip – from soft, to hard engineering, nothing was done.