Lawsuit planned against owners of home that exploded
Next-door neighbors injured in the explosion Monday of a South Philadelphia rowhouse have put the home's owners on notice that they intend to file suit.
Next-door neighbors injured in the explosion Monday of a South Philadelphia rowhouse have put the home's owners on notice that they intend to file suit.
The residents of 430 Daly St. also filed an emergency motion Wednesday to preserve the demolished property for inspection by their attorney and experts. Common Pleas Court Judge Ellen Ceisler is to hear arguments Friday on the motion.
Jukennith Smith, 35, and Shaquorie Fields, 15, the daughter of Smith's girlfriend, Sekeya Fields, 38, suffered minor injuries when the home at 428 Daly St., undergoing extensive rehabilitation, exploded shortly after 11 a.m. Monday. A contractor working in the home suffered serious burns, and six other people were injured.
Smith had lived with the Fields family for about seven months. All three are plaintiffs in the emergency motion and are represented by personal-injury attorney Christopher Moyer.
The target of their proposed suit is SCK Investments, a real estate firm recently created by Steve Finney and Cathy Finney-Hughes, who are also named as defendants in the motion. Finney did not respond to a request Thursday for comment. A lawyer for the defendants has not been named.
The plaintiffs filed a notice of intent to sue Tuesday, but have not yet filed a complaint.
The emergency motion asks for the right to take photographs and record videos of the site beginning Monday afternoon. The motion also calls for the defendants to preserve documents related to the planned renovation, such as permits, engineering and demolition plans, and property records.
Smith, who said he went to physical therapy Thursday for injuries to his head, neck, back, legs, and hands, said the decision to file a lawsuit was made by his girlfriend, who was not home at the time of the explosion. Shaquorie Fields, who fell from her upstairs bedroom to the kitchen floor when the building collapsed, has general soreness, Smith said.
"We lost everything," Smith said, "and it wasn't our fault."
The Fields home was purchased in 2002 for $15,000 and has a 2014 total assessed value of nearly $185,000, according to property records.
The family is living with Sekeya Fields' aunt.
