Another lawsuit in deadliest Aurora fire ever
Another lawsuit has been filed in response to a May 2011 apartment fire on Aurora’s east side that killed six and was the deadliest in the city’s history.
A lawsuit was filed recently by Manuel and Manuela Ramirez and their daughter Gabriela, 14, in Kane County court, seeking in excess of $50,000 for each of them in damages, which is a customary threshold for lawsuits.
Dexter Evans, attorney for the Ramirezes, said all three were injured jumping out of a third-story window to escape fire at 760 Claim St.
“(Gabriela) was in a wheelchair for a while, but she’s able to walk now,” said Evans, noting the girl could need surgery.
Gabriela’s parents suffered minor injuries from the jump; their two sons, then 7 and 9, jumped too but were not hurt, Evans said.
The May 15 fire at a 10-unit apartment building killed Francisco Marcos Sr., his wife Micaela Perez, their kids Francisco Jr., 6, and Jose Marcos, 9.
Christina Dominguez Navarro, 35, and her 8-month-old son, Alex Gonzaga, who both lived in a separate unit, also died.
Teodoro Perez, who was 14 at the time and lost his parents and siblings, survived and sued last year for damages along with relatives from the other victims.
Both lawsuits name Jose Roberto Ayala, Lucilla Ayala, Ruben Renteria and Rodolfo Corral as defendants.
Message left with their defense attorney, Thomas Scherschel, was not returned Friday.
Both lawsuits claim the four were negligent and failed to install and maintain smoke detectors at the building.
Other allegations are that the apartment units didn’t have adequate escapes and they failed to provide automatic closing doors on the apartment units. No criminal charges have been filed in the response to the fire.
The suit claims the Ayalas owned the building and Corral and Renteria were employees whose duties included operation and maintenance at the building.
Corral wants to be removed from the lawsuit, arguing in court filings that he was retired at the time of the blaze. A hearing is set for Monday in Kane County to consider his request.
An initial court date for the Ramirez lawsuit is June 21.