GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) -- A Michigan woman whose daughter and grandson were killed in a hotel fire last January has sued the Comfort Inn owners and operators on behalf of her child, The Greenville News reported.
Court documents show Dorothy Canty-Croskey sued in Greenville County Court of Common Pleas for her daughter, Melba Lawshawn Canty. Canty's 16-month-old son, Jaden, was also killed in the fire.
Zachary Cromer, who shared Jaden with Canty, sued on his son's behalf.
Canty-Croskey's suit is the eighth filed since six people died and 12 others were injured in the blaze.
There was no comment from attorneys for the hotel's operator, identified in the suit as R.G. Hospitality; the owner, Greenville Hotel Partners; and the franchiser, Choice Hotels International. All said they have not yet seen the latest lawsuit.
They have denied wrongdoing in past suits.
Authorities have said the fire began on the third floor of the five-story hotel. The Greenville County Sheriff's Office has ruled arson was the cause. There have been no arrests. Sheriff Steve Loftis said Monday there's no new information to release about the investigation.
Canty-Croskey's suit alleges the defendants failed to provide sprinklers, adequate security and adequate directions to the exits. It also alleges the defendants advertised having sprinklers.
The hotel did not have sprinklers and was not required too since it was built in the 1980s.
Canty-Croskey's lawsuit alleges the defendants turned off devices designed to alert patrons of danger and failed to respond to fire and smoke.
R. G. Hospitality and Greenville Hotel Partners have responded to earlier suits that any injuries were result of criminal conduct of someone they had no control over. The companies have said the criminal conduct was not reasonably foreseeable.
Choice Hotels International says it isn't the owner or the manager and is not responsible for the fire, attorney Jay Hewitt of the firm Leatherwood, Walker, Todd & Mann said Monday.
Eleven of the possible 46 people staying at the hotel when the fire broke out have sued, according to court documents.
``This is really tearing us up because somebody is responsible,'' Amelia Barbour, Canty-Croskey's sister and Canty's aunt.
Related:
