BELLEVILLE – Tenants have filed a lawsuit against their landlords claiming the East St. Louis residence they were living in had no working smoke detectors when a fire broke out, tragically killing five children living on the property.
Plaintiffs Deontae Davis, acting as father, next-of-kin and special administrator for Deontae Davis, Heaven Dunigan, Neveah Dunigan, and Loy'el Dunigan, and Lemario Johnson, Jr, acting as father, next-of-kin and special administrator for Jabari Johnson, filed the lawsuit in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against Rita McIntosh, Rukavina McIntosh, McIntosh Properties, LLC, Columbia Insurance group, and Oakwood Securities, citing wrongful death as a result of negligence.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs were tenants renting an East St. Louis property that was owned and operated by the defendants. The plaintiffs allege that on Aug. 6, 2021, they were asleep when a fire broke out in the building, which tragically caused the deaths of minor children Deontae Davis, Heaven Dunigan, Neveah Dunigan, Loy'el Dunigan and Jabari Johnson.
According to the plaintiffs, the defendants were negligent in their failure to have properly operating smoke detectors on the property and failure to properly maintain, inspect and repair the property.
The plaintiffs claim the defendants' negligence directly caused the deaths of the five children and that their deaths have caused them to experience grief, sorrow and loss of companionship.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages in excess of $50,000, plus court costs and any other relief the court deems proper. They are represented in this case by attorney Alan Pirtle of Brown & Crouppen, P.C. in St. Louis.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 23LA0871