Victims, Families File 2 Suits Against Management, Utility In Silver Spring Apartment Explosion

Victims and families filed a pair of lawsuits Wednesday against a utility and management firm, alleging their negligence led to August's deadly fire at a Silver Spring apartment complex.

Seven people, including two children, were killed, 25 were injured and 150 were displaced at the Flower Branch complex in the Washington suburb. The Latino advocacy group CASA is assisting the families in the suit.

“We have been waiting long enough and the victims are entitled to justice,” CASA Executive Director Gustavo Torres said in a statement.. “We bring this lawsuit to force the responsible parties to finally give us straight answers to our questions. Through the courts, we will discover what really happened that tragic night and fight to get just compensation for the families of the victims."

They say the Washington Gas Light Company and Kay Management failed to fulfill their responsibility to residents. Three weeks prior to the explosion and fire, residents reported the smell of natural gas, but the two companies allegedly didn't repair or inspect the leaks, nor did they warn residents.



"We have been working since August with the survivors of the Flower Branch explosion and fire to get answers about the cause of the explosion that devastated this community," said John Barrett, an attorney with Bailey & Glasser, who is assisting CASA in the case. "We’ve asked for investigation information from half-dozen government agencies. We’ve asked for information from Washington Gas and Kay Management. They’ve delayed and danced around our demands long enough. The victims and families are tired of waiting and we have been as patient as good conscience permits. The lawsuits we filed today give us the tools to get answers."

One of suits, a class action filing, seeks damages for all impacted by the explosion. Many of the residents, CASA officials note, were low-income families, and Torres said the explosion never would have happened in a middle-class or high-income development.



“This action is about achieving justice for a community that is overlooked and underserved," Torres said. "There is a long history of neglect on the part of those with power at the expense of our communities.”

In both cases, plaintiffs asked for a jury trial. Damages in the class action suit could reach up to $5 million.