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NEW PORT RICHEY - The parents of two boys who died of carbon monoxide poisoning in 2007 are suing a homebuilder and their then-landlord.
Barbara and Kirby Baudin contend that Lexington Homes and Philip L. Perry III are responsible for the deaths of Jules Baudin, 14, and his brother, Parker, 12.
Barbara Baudin awoke on the morning of July 9, 2007, to find the children unconscious in their beds. Autopsies showed they died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Investigators found the family's van parked inside an enclosed garage with the ignition in the "on" position. The vehicle was out of gas.
Barbara Baudin had parked the van in the garage two days before but left it running when she went inside, investigators said. Her husband was out of town on business and the couple's third son, Logan, had slept at a friend's house.
Police determined the boys' deaths were accidental.
In their lawsuit filed Dec. 22 in Pasco Circuit Court, the Baudins contend that Lexington Homes was negligent because its construction allowed air to be pumped from the garage into the house through the air conditioner. The garage also lacked adequate ventilation, the suit states.
Perry should have known about the dangerous condition, according to the complaint.
Perry couldn't be reached for comment today.
Louis Lacava, attorney for Lexington Homes, said, "Clearly, it's our position that Lexington and no one associated with it did anything wrong in this case. It just appears that someone left their car running in their garage, which is not the thing to do."
Isn't it crazy that people can sue fwhile they are guilty of their own negligence!!!!
It is sad that kids died..but to blame others while you leave you car on without gas in a enclosed garage!!!
I do not think the parents should get anything BUT they do have a point- the placing of air conditioning, heating and hot water tanks in garages should be illegal and against the building code. It has been known for some time that it is a dangerous practice, not only because the unit is sucking in air from the garage- where even if a car is outside running and the garage door is up- it will suck in exhaust fumes. The other danger is that many people put open gasoline containers, lawn mowers and such in the garage and there have been cases of fumes from these igniting with the fire from the hot water tank or furnace.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
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Originally Posted by olecapt
I sometimes wonder where all you folks come from...philosophically that is...you are quite consistent and quite wrong.
I am sure the Attorney took this as a contingency. You all think he has lost his mind?
In fact he will produce expert witnesses who will testify that the garage should have had sufficient ventilation to vent the carbon monoxide and that an AC should not be placed where it could pick up automobile exhaust.
Leaving a car on is a forseeable accident. It is certain to happen every so many homes. And probably not very many homes before it is almost a certainty. So one constructing buildings to house vehicles should design the structure so nothing bad happens.
I would suspect the owner is involved as he provides the connection to the builder. I can't see him being found negligent.
Now it will remain true that this ladies carelessness caused her children death. But that in no way suggests that the Builder did not have a role as well. The deaths require that the car be left on AND the building be improperly designed.
I would think this one is best sorted by a jury...though I will bet it never gets to one. The builders insurance company will not be willing to risk what the jury may decide...particularly if the vents involved are relatively standard in that area....
I agree with you. The tort system in this country was built to protect us from dangerous products or practices. Many people don't understand that.
I don't believe in keeping anyone out of the court system if it is justified but there is just too much abuse.
Case in point: Construction company is doing a job and is not hiring -- no ads in paper looking for workers, no Help Wanted signs up, nothing. Man walks onto job site and asks about employment. He is told they are currently not hiring. Within days, company discovers they are being sued for discrimination because they did not hire this man (they hadn't hired anyone). The man loses the case but it cost the company $15,000 in legal fees to defend themselves.
This was just someone looking for free money. Think about it, if he really wanted a job with the company when the time came that they were hiring, would he have sued them or would he leave his name, etc. in hopes they would be hiring soon?
This type of thing is not just costly for a company, but also a company's employees, etc. Get enough of this type of case and it is also bad for the economy.
Had forgotten to mention - the man had free legal service so his suit cost him nothing.
I heard once of people who were suing a movie theater because they had to watch commercials before the movie started and they only paid to see the movie and wasted time on the commercials and wanted to be reimbursed by getting a huge amount in court....I'm not sure about the outcome, but IMO these kind of lawsuits are making other seeks for crazy lawsuits as well....remember the 54 million pants, the mom who sued because she didn't watch her kid in a grocery store and her kid pulled over a machine which containt coca cola cans, etc...
I do not think the parents should get anything BUT they do have a point- the placing of air conditioning, heating and hot water tanks in garages should be illegal and against the building code. It has been known for some time that it is a dangerous practice, not only because the unit is sucking in air from the garage- where even if a car is outside running and the garage door is up- it will suck in exhaust fumes. The other danger is that many people put open gasoline containers, lawn mowers and such in the garage and there have been cases of fumes from these igniting with the fire from the hot water tank or furnace.
Yeah...In the great Northeast when it's 10 degrees out, I really want my water heater and furnace outdoors.
How many deaths do you figure are attributed to someone leaving their car running for a couple of days?Inside or out?
Enough to change the building codes?
The legal system, at least in terms of lawsuits, REALLLLLLY needs an overhaul in this country badly. Frivolous, stupid, asinine lawsuits like this are what help drive small businesses under, increase healthcare costs dramatically, run good docs outta business, etc. IT HAS GONE WAY TOO FAR. I think that if you bring fourth a frivolous lawsuit it should be an automatic option for the judge to require you to pay for the defendants costs. That would cut the number of these dumbass things down.
I sometimes wonder where all you folks come from...philosophically that is...you are quite consistent and quite wrong.
I am sure the Attorney took this as a contingency. You all think he has lost his mind?
In fact he will produce expert witnesses who will testify that the garage should have had sufficient ventilation to vent the carbon monoxide and that an AC should not be placed where it could pick up automobile exhaust.
Leaving a car on is a forseeable accident. It is certain to happen every so many homes. And probably not very many homes before it is almost a certainty. So one constructing buildings to house vehicles should design the structure so nothing bad happens.
I would suspect the owner is involved as he provides the connection to the builder. I can't see him being found negligent.
Now it will remain true that this ladies carelessness caused her children death. But that in no way suggests that the Builder did not have a role as well. The deaths require that the car be left on AND the building be improperly designed.
I would think this one is best sorted by a jury...though I will bet it never gets to one. The builders insurance company will not be willing to risk what the jury may decide...particularly if the vents involved are relatively standard in that area....
You can't be serious? I guess sticking my head in a microwave would be a foreseeable accident as well then?
You can't be serious? I guess sticking my head in a microwave would be a foreseeable accident as well then?
A microwave is carefully rigged so that you cannot stick your head in and turn it on.
It is standard practice in virtually all areas for garages to be vented and constructed of a thicker and fireproof wallboard. The door to a garage is one hour fire rated.
This is because fires in the garage are reasonably common and the garage should prevent the fire getting into the house.
One builds to guard against obvious hazards. If you don't you can get sued.
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