Jump to full article: San Jose (CA) Mercury-News, 2010-08-20
Author: Tony Burchyns Vallejo Times-Herald
Intro: Former residents of the fire-ravaged Casa de Vallejo senior home are suing the building's owners and managers, blaming them for the 2008 fatal blaze at the historic building.
The lawsuits are in addition to a pending criminal case against five owners and managers, charging them with elder abuse and manslaughter in connection with the blaze that killed three elderly tenants and displaced 117.
An investigation after the fire revealed the historic building's alarm system was inoperable.
In their lawsuit filed Monday, plaintiffs George Phillips and Elizabeth Nace claimed managers knew that Robert Bennett, the tenant who started the fire, was a "chronic alcoholic" who had "a habit of smoking cigars while receiving medical oxygen," but nevertheless they "provided (him) with alcohol and/or smoking tobacco anyway."
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