Judge: Carbon monoxide case belongs in Watauga County
As expected, a Superior Court judge ruled Friday that a lawsuit over the death of an 11-year-old boy in a Boone hotel should be heard in Watauga County – not Mecklenburg.
Jeffrey Williams of Rock Hill died of carbon monoxide poisoning in 2013, about six weeks after Daryl and Shirley Jenkins of Washington state died in the same room at the Best Western.
Both families filed wrongful death lawsuits in Mecklenburg County.
Superior Court Judge Bob Bell heard arguments Thursday from an attorney for the Williams family who asked that family members be spared the trauma of returning to the town where Jeffrey died.
Defense attorneys countered that the case should be heard where the death occurred and most witnesses reside. Bell agreed. A similar ruling came in the Jenkins case in October.
The two families are seeking damages from Best Western International, the hotel’s owners and its former manager, Damon Mallatere, as well as from companies and individuals who worked on the swimming pool heating system where the deadly gas originated. Mallatere also faces three counts of manslaughter.
– Elizabeth Leland
This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Judge: Carbon monoxide case belongs in Watauga County."