ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, September 21, 1996 TAG: 9609230045
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
A Roanoke woman who lost her mother and four children in a house fire has taken legal action for the second time, filing five lawsuits Friday accusing a real estate company of repairing the house in a way that fueled the fatal blaze.
In lawsuits that seek a total of $3.75 million, Patricia Leftwich claimed that Moore & Co. used combustible materials to repair the home on Stewart Avenue Southeast.
Those repairs - which included the use of particle board instead of fire-retardant Sheetrock - "provided combustible fuel to sustain rapid propagation of fire and deadly smoke," which trapped Leftwich's family in an upstairs bedroom, the lawsuit stated.
Authorities have determined that an overheated extension cord from an electric space heater started the Jan. 20 fire that killed Leftwich's mother, Goldie Christine Duncan, and Leftwich's four children - Mark, 6; Clyde, 5; Patrick, 4; and Nancy, 3.
While the cause of the fire is not in dispute, Leftwich's attorneys have been investigating actions by the home's owners and others that could have contributed to the deaths.
Leftwich has already sued the owners of the home, who earlier this year agreed to pay $270,000 to settle her claims that they rented the house knowing it lacked a fire wall that could have prevented the fire from spreading.
Brent Brown, a Roanoke lawyer who represents Leftwich, said there is a "distinct possibility" that other lawsuits will be filed.
But if they produce more money, there is likely to be a dispute between Leftwich and her ex-husband, Mark Leftwich, over who is entitled to how much.
According to court records, the Leftwiches have been unable to agree on how to split the $130,771.78 that was left from the $270,000 settlement after attorney fees, expenses and other deductions were made.
Mark Leftwich has said he is entitled to half of any settlement, but his ex-wife has balked - citing his alleged failure to pay child support for much of the time she was raising their children. Court records also show that at the time they were married, Mark Leftwich was already married to another woman.
A bigamy charge was dismissed in Roanoke Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on the condition that Mark Leftwich pay to have his marriage to Patricia annulled.
With the Leftwiches unable to reach an agreement, the settlement from the first lawsuit has been placed in a trust account until a judge can determine how the money will be divided.
In the more recent lawsuits, Moore & Co. is accused of making improper repairs to 1228 Stewart Ave. in January or February of 1994, before it was sold to WTS of Virginia, which owned the property at the time of the fire.
In making the repairs, Moore & Co. should have known that the single-family house had been improperly converted into three rental units, and that required safety inspections had not been conducted, the suit alleges.
The lawsuit also claims that the improper repairs, which were made to a wall separating the two downstairs units, constituted a "public nuisance" under Virginia law.
Frank Perkinson, a Roanoke lawyer who represents Moore & Co., said Friday afternoon that he had not seen the lawsuits. But he pointed out that the real estate company had nothing to do with the house at the time the fire started.
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