A St. Louis jury found that a landlord, a roofing contractor and a shingle delivery company were not at fault for injuries a tenant sustained after his roof collapsed.
In September 2002, employees from Contractors Roofing Supply were unloading shingles onto the roof of a residence owned by landlord Soli Tran. About 45 minutes after the delivery, the roof collapsed. At the time of the collapse, Basil Fattah was sleeping in his second-floor apartment. He was startled by the noise and rushed to leave.
While he was exiting the apartment, however, he fell down a flight of stairs. He spent four days in the hospital and claimed he suffered soft-tissue injuries to his left hip and left shoulder.
After the accident, it was determined that rotting wood in the attic near the chimney was responsible for the collapse. The building was condemned.
At trial, Fattah and his wife sought damages for his injuries and their possessions, which were damaged while stored in the building’s basement after the accident. Each of the defendants testified they weren’t aware of any problems with the roof. Three roofers testified that the roof seemed stable before delivery, and two of the shingle delivery company employees said the roof was in good condition when they left the complex.
Tran, the landlord, testified he was not aware of defects in the roof but was aware water had been leaking into the plaintiff’s apartment shortly before the collapse. Tran said the repair work to the roof was ordered in response to the Fattahs’ complaint. The leak was not in the same place as the rotted boards, though, said defense attorney Seth Gausnell, who represented Tran.
Plaintiff expert Wes Wright testified that each of the defendants should have inspected the roof and the attic space before ordering and carrying out the delivery work, and they didn’t. On cross-examination, however, Wright testified he wasn’t aware of any roofers who go into attics to do the type of inspection he recommended, said Jon Sanner, who represented the roofing defendants.
Defense expert Stephen Spicknall testified that two rotted boards caused the collapse, but the boards would not have been visible under a reasonable inspection.
Plaintiff expert Dr. Thomas Musich testified that Fattah’s injuries had come from the fall. Fattah had had a stroke 10 years before the accident, however, that left him partially paralyzed on the left side. The defense claimed Fattah didn’t exit the building carefully enough. They claimed the roof had not completely collapsed, and Fattah testified he had stopped to see a crowd gathering outside before he exited.
The plaintiffs also claimed their belongings had been destroyed after the accident. Tran had stored them in the basement, but they were exposed to some elements, they said. Gausnell said Tran testified he had communicated to the Fattahs — who don’t speak English — through their son that they could move anything they wanted at any time. The couple did move a few items
while the repair work was being done. The Fattahs’ son did not testify at trial.
“Sometimes accidents happen, and nobody’s really at fault,” said defense attorney Sanner.
Plaintiff attorney Mark Niesen said a couple of factors hindered his case. First, the Fattahs did not contact him until four years after the incident, which made it difficult to gather evidence. Second, he procured a translator for the Fattahs who didn’t disclose until trial that he had not
done translating work before.
Still, Niesen said he feels the Fattahs had a legitimate claim and that their lease stated that Tran would be responsible for the exterior of the property.
“That obviously didn’t happen,” he said.
— Anna Vitale
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