Dive Brief:
- The daughter of a woman who died in a gas explosion that leveled a Dallas apartment complex on May 28 is suing the property owners, operator, would-be buyer and others for at least $1 million in damages, alleging wrongful death and negligence, court documents filed Sunday show. Two other people died, several were injured and more lawsuits are pending.
- The suit alleges that Sylvia Collins, an 81-year-old community activist and Dallas County Democratic Party precinct chair, was “violently killed” in the explosion at The Clyde in the Oak Cliff neighborhood, according to documents filed in Dallas County Court. It claims the defendants’ breach of duty proximately caused her injuries and death.
- Daughter Michelle Collins names Atmos Energy Corp., Barba Drilling Co. LLC, Sir Julian LLC, Samuel A. Aflalo, Revival Property Co. LLC and O-SDA Industries LLC in the lawsuit. The National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation, has not yet released an official cause of the explosion.
Dive Insight:
The Clyde apartment building was owned and operated by Samuel A. Aflalo of Dallas and Arizona-based real estate firm Sir Julian LLC, according to the court documents, and Dallas-headquartered Revival Property Co. served as property manager. Nineteen of the units were occupied at the time of the explosion.
Preceding the incident, Austin, Texas-based real estate development firm O-SDA Industries had been in the process of buying the building, per the suit. O-SDA was looking to link the site with another parcel on the opposite side of the block to build an 82-unit housing project for seniors called Rosette Park, city documents show.
Dallas law firm Hamilton Wingo is representing Collins. "This terrible, preventable tragedy will not go unpunished," Attorney Chris Hamilton said in a June 1 release. "We have already collected crucial evidence that will ultimately help produce a clear picture of exactly who's responsible, as well as the magnitude of the harm and suffering caused by this inexcusable gross negligence.”
Landlords have a duty to maintain safe rental properties, according to a post from North Dakota-based Weikum Injury Law. If a landlord neglected maintenance, hired an unqualified worker for installation or repairs or ignored tenants’ concerns, it can be liable for a gas explosion in a rental building.
The Clyde’s lawyer, Geoff Henley of Dallas-headquartered Henley & Henley, said the owner was “shocked” and “likewise mourns this outcome,” WFAA reported. Multifamily Dive reached out to Henley and all defendants for comment but did not hear back from most by publication time.
At the time of the explosion, geotechnical contractor Barba Drilling was conducting rigging work on the property for O-SDA Industries, according to the suit. It says that O-SDA and Barba Drilling managed and controlled the geotechnical work and related rigging, as did anticipated defendant ECS Cos., the engineering firm that hired Barba.
ECS did follow proper protocol ahead of drilling for a soil sample by notifying Texas811 that it planned to bore through concrete at the apartment building, CBS News reported June 1. On the day of the explosion, ECS reported that its contractor Barba had nicked a gas line while digging and that gas was leaking, and noted "previous markings" were visible.
Collins’ suit also names Atmos Energy, the utility that provided natural gas to The Clyde, and claims that residents reported the smell of gas days before the explosion. It alleges that “Atmos notoriously has an unusually high rate of leaks, including an excessive rate of third-party strikes, and a known history of poorly maintained gas lines and explosions causing serious injury and death in North Texas.”
In a statement emailed to Multifamily Dive, a spokesperson for Atmos Energy said it “continues to work with authorities and emergency personnel, so that all parties involved understand and learn from what occurred leading up to the tragedy.”
Gas leaks are a persisting problem in the area: Dallas recorded 924 Grade 1 gas leaks, the most severe level, last year alone, CBS News reported. Digging by third-party contractors caused nearly half of the incidents.
Marisol Perez and her 18-month-old son, Erik, also died in the explosion, KERA news reported June 2. Houston-based catastrophic injury firm Kherkher Garcia filed a separate lawsuit on May 29 that names Atmos Energy on behalf of another resident in the building, Onecimo Ponce Mendoza, who allegedly suffered burns, smoke inhalation and other serious injuries.
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