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Court Upholds Dismissal of Personal
Injury Lawsuit Based on No Evidence
of a Gas Leak
California Court property The gas company aldehydes” which he docu-
of Appeals judge technician came out to the mented on an inspection form
recently upheld apartment complex that same Ironwood Plumbing returned to
A summary judgment day to investigate The tech- the property on July 8, 2013 and
for the defendant in the De nician repaired a “fizzer leak” worked on the second boiler
Leon v AvalonBay Communi- and handed plaintiff a form The next day, July 9, 2013, a
ties case In the De Leon case, which indicated one of the boil- gas company technician tested
plaintiff claimed the apartment ers needed to have the com- both boilers on the property; did
complex breached its duty of bustion levels adjusted Three not find any gas odor or leaks
care to her when it failed to days later, plaintiff provided the and confirmed both boilers
detect and inform her of a gas form to the apartment complex were tuned, properly operating
leak from one or more boilers which contacted its contractor, and in no need of adjustments
which she claimed caused her Ironwood Plumbing The com- The technician provided the
to be dizzy and fall down some bustion levels
steps Negligence claims based for the boiler
on allegations that a gas leak were adjust-
caused personal injury or other ed on July 1,
damages often turn on wheth- 2013 Plaintiff
er the defendant breached a called the
duty to the plaintiff Although gas compa-
the lawsuit involved an alleged ny again on
natural gas leak, we can draw July 5, 2013
analogies to propane-related to report a MASTER DISTRIBUTOR
procedures and issues, includ- gas odor The
ing documentation of inspec- gas compa-
tions and repair work ny techni-
cian came
Background/Underlying out again
Incident. and did not
Plaintiff lived at an detect any
apartment complex which had gas odor on
two boilers on the property with- the property
in a fenced enclosure On June but deter-
26, 2013 plaintiff called South- mined the
ern California Gas Company second boiler
and reported a gas odor at the was “spilling
14 Alabama Propane Gas Association | May / June 2018
