Trump Organization files $90,000 lawsuit against estate of man killed in Trump Tower apartment fire

[Stonepounder]

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/18/1805394/-Trump-Organization-files-90-000-lawsuit-against-estate-of-man-killed-in-Trump-Tower-apartment-fire?detail=emaildkre

Trump Organization files $90,000 lawsuit against estate of man killed in Trump Tower apartment fire

Trump Organization lawyer Sonja Talesnik has filed a lawsuit against the estate of Todd Brassner, the 67-year-old former art dealer who died after an electrical fire started in his Trump Tower apartment. According to the New York Post, the Trump Organization is seeking “$90,000 in unpaid common charges and fees from a Trump Tower resident.” Brassner’s apartment was not equipped with sprinklers, as Trump himself had spent tons of money lobbying against having to retrofit his towering monstrosity years before.

The legislation was signed into law by Giuliani in 1999, but not before buildings like Trump’s crappy tower were given the loophole of being grandfathered out of the requirement. The rich in our country like to say that dying is too expensive. It’s the reason they claim to want to do away with the inheritance tax. But the real reason is that they want all of that money for themselves, and if you die before them, they want your money too.

My favorite comment from KOS:

I hope the estate’s attorney responds with a $10 million counterclaim for wrongful death. “Negligence” doesn’t have to mean “failing to comply with building codes.” It can include “deliberately failing to install safety measures that were widely available, inexpensive, and strongly recommended for buildings of this type.” That’s how people got judgments against auto manufacturers for not including side-impact airbags, for example, or having bumpers that crumpled in a 5-mph impact.


Until we got this monster in the White House I wouldn't have believed that such evil could actually exist outside some Hollywood writer's fevered brain. And 30% of the population of the US think he's wonderful! In all seriousness, if I were 20 years younger I would have moved to Canada or Belize and found a job there, become a citizen, and left the US behind. The is no longer my country. God help us if the GOP steals the upcoming election. Seems they are well on their way, having already disenfranchised something like 10% of the voters in the US.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Yeah, but:

Last edited Fri Oct 19, 2018, 03:48 PM - Edit history (2)

Morning Mix

Trump Tower board seeks nearly $90,000 from estate of art collector who died in 50th-floor fire

By Meagan Flynn October 18

Six months after a fire in Trump Tower killed 50th-floor resident Todd Brassner, the building’s residential board is coming after Brassner’s estate for tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid common charges stemming from a lien on his apartment, according to a complaint filed Tuesday in the Supreme Court in New York County.

Brassner, a longtime Trump Tower resident who lived alone with hundreds of vintage instruments and an elaborate multimillion-dollar art collection, died April 7 after an electrical fire engulfed his apartment, which had no working smoke alarms. He was 67.

Now, with backing from a Trump Organization attorney, the Residential Board of Trump Tower Condominium is suing Brassner’s estate for more than $64,600 in unpaid common charges, an amount that includes fees accrued in the months after Brassner died. The residential board is also seeking a judgment of at least $25,000, bringing the total amount sought to nearly $90,000. Common charges are condo fees that typically include maintenance, utilities or other services. Brassner defaulted on common charge payments in June 2015, according to the complaint.
....

The New York City Fire Department ultimately found that the fire was caused by an overloaded electrical board. The Times reported that the building was equipped with smoke sensors, which is what alerted firefighters to the blaze.
....

Meagan Flynn is a reporter on The Washington Post's Morning Mix team. She was previously a reporter at the Houston Chronicle and the Houston Press. Follow https://twitter.com/Meagan_Flynn

His apartment "had no working smoke alarms." That statement includes the possibility that it had smoke alarms, but that the batteries were dead. I mail ordered ten 9-volt smoke alarm batteries from Radio Shack back in June. I replace worn out batteries right away. The batteries were on sale, a buck a pop.

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Or maybe it was overloaded power strips that were the cause of the fire. From April:

Four-alarm Trump Tower fire caused by overloaded power strips, says FDNY

FDNY fire marshals have determined that the fatal April 7 fire was an accident

By Ameena Walker Apr 17, 2018, 9:15am EDT

The four-alarm fire that broke out on April 7 on the 50th floor of Midtown’s Trump Tower, killing one resident and injuring six firefighters, was caused by overloaded power strips, reports the New York Daily News.

The city’s Fire Department confirmed on Twitter that the cause of the fire was an accident, citing “electrical- sequenced power strips powering multiple components” as the cause. It was also noted that a smoke alarm was not present in the apartment where the fire broke out.

Todd Brassner, a 67-year-old art collector and dealer, lived on the 50th floor of Trump Tower and was killed in the Saturday evening blaze.

#FDNY members remain on scene of a 4-alarm fire, 721 5th Ave in Manhattan. There is currently one serious injury to a civilian, and 3 non-life-threatening injuries to Firefighters, reported

Link to tweet

....

CNN's Melanie Schuman, Tony Marco, Polo Sandoval, Linh Tran and Evan Simko-Bednarski contributed to this report.

[Blue Owl]

2. On par with Dick Cheney's shotgun-to-the-face victim having to apologize to Dick Cheney

n/t

[TomSlick]

3. Geez. That's just stupid.

It's begging for a counterclaim.