Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Report: The estate of Nicholas Figueroa files wrongful death lawsuit



The estate of Nicholas Figueroa, the 23-year-old recent college graduate who died last March in the Second Avenue explosion, has filed a wrong death lawsuit, The Real Deal reports.

The estate is suing the building’s owner, Maria Hrynenko and her son Michael, as well as the restaurant, contractors and plumbers who worked on the allegedly illegally-installed gas line, Con Edison, the city, Neighborhood Construction Corporation, Beta Plumbing & Heating and others.

The lawyer who is representing the estate said that the amount of damages sought has not yet been set. The suit was filed last week in New York State Supreme Court.

Authorities have said that siphoned gas at 121 Second Ave. is to blame for the explosion, which killed Figueroa and Moises Ismael Locón Yac, injured two dozen other people and destroyed three buildings.

On Feb. 11, the DA charged No. 119 and 121 landlord Maria Hrynenko and her son, Michael Hrynenko Jr., with involuntary manslaughter ... as well as contractor Dilber Kukic and an unlicensed plumber, Athanasios Ioannidis. (A fifth person, Andrew Trombettas, faces charges for supplying his license to Ioannidis.) All pleaded not guilty.

In early March, George Pasternak, the landlord of 123 Second Ave., put his vacant plot of land up for sale, asking $9.7 million.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updating] Explosion on 2nd Avenue and East 7th Street

RIP Nicholas Figueroa

A family continues to feel the loss on 2nd Avenue

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why would the restaurant be included in the lawsuit - weren't they unaware of what the landlord was doing with the gas line?

Anonymous said...

11:14am

That's probably something that can only be determined through discovery.

LPIFLY said...

Hope there is a way to include Moises Ismael Locón as well.

Scuba Diva said...

I'm happy they're going after Maria.

Anonymous said...

Really hope family of the other victim can be involved as well. They seem to have relied on the income he provided, so in addition to the immense emotional toll, any settlement and judgment could provide much needed material relief, too.

Anonymous said...

11:14. Cause to add all people to the original list, no matter how implausible, and take them off as it goes. You can't add people after you start...