Surviving spouse sues K&G and others for roof collapse

Debra Moore filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of her late husband Delancey Moore who died April 2 when the roof at K&G Men's store in Fairview Heights collapsed on him during a ferocious storm.

Seeking in excess of $375,000 in damages, Moore named K&G Men's Co., the building's owner, Big Red LLC, architect Robert Boland, structural engineer Leonard Weintraub and the city of Fairview Heights in a suit filed Oct. 27 in St. Clair County Circuit Court.

She claims the defendants were negligent in that the walls of the store were a single wide cinder block without rebar; that they failed to adequately inspect the property to discover that the walls were single wide cinder blocks and that they failed to warn patrons that the property was unsafe.

A powerful storm ripped through the Metro-East on the date of the incident causing widespread damage. On that day, a tornado touched down and caused particular devastation in Fairview Heights.

The suit claims the defendants should have known the building's condition posed a hazard for store patrons "given defendant's knowledge of the previous death of Dale Hoffman," the complaint states.

Moore is represented by Thomas Q. Keefe, Jr. of Belleville and by Justin Kuehn of the Kuehn Law Firm in Belleville.

"...Delancey Moore died and his next of kin have been permanently deprived of his love, companionship, guidance and support," the complaint states.