Published: December 10, 2007 10:24 pm         

Seventh lawsuit filed in deadly explosion at Ghent

A seventh lawsuit has now been filed in connection with the fatal propane gas explosion at a Little General store in Ghent last January that killed four people and injured five others.

Jeffrey Lee Treadway, 21, worked for Appalachian Heating and was one of four killed when propane fumes leaking from a nearby tank ignited and leveled the Little General store. The suit, filed Nov. 29, was registered in the name of Michael Treadway, the administrator of Jeffrey’s estate.

As with five of the six prior lawsuits, Treadway names eight defendants — BP America, Appalachian Heating, Thompson Gas Propane Partners, Ferrell Gas, Little General Store, Godfather’s Pizza, RegO Claimants Trust and Trinity Industries.

Treadway, represented by Charleston attorney Paul Stroebel, accuses the defendants of negligence, reckless conduct, liability and breach of warranty. The complaint, which requests a jury trial, leaves it up to a jury to determine the amount of compensatory and punitive damages purportedly owed to Treadway. The case has been assigned to Raleigh County Circuit Judge H.L. Kirkpatrick III.

Kirkpatrick will preside over a hearing Thursday at 9 a.m. to potentially consolidate five of the six previous lawsuits filed.

Robin Bennett, whose husband Glenn worked for Appalachian Heating and was one of four killed in the Jan. 30 blast, filed her lawsuit against six defendants — BP America, Little General Store, Godfather’s Pizza, Ferrell Gas, RegO Claimants Trust and Trinity Industries. She has requested that her case be consolidated with four of the others.

Bennett seeks to join her legal grievances with four other complaints:

- A lawsuit filed on behalf of Donnie Ray and Wilda Caldwell. The former was a part-time firefighter with the Ghent Volunteer Fire Department and was on the premises when the explosion ripped through the building. The Caldwells seek $20 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

- A pair of suits filed in the names of Joyce Walker and Donna Meadows, along with their husbands, Connie Walker and Steve Meadows. The women worked for Godfather’s Pizza and Little General, respectively. Each couple is seeking $20 million.

- A $60 million lawsuit filed on behalf of Patricia Mullins, Leta Farley, and Lee Anne Salomon and Kathy M. Sizemore, co-administrators of the estate of Craig L. Dorsey II. Dorsey, a Ghent Volunteer Fire Department paramedic, was killed in the blast. Mullins and Farley were employees of Little General and Godfather’s Pizza, respectively, and were injured in the explosion. Both women are joined by their husbands as plaintiffs in the case.

A leaky valve on a propane tank was the likely source of the large propane release that caused the explosion, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board announced in June.

— E-mail: mhill@register-herald.com