Relatives File Lawsuits Over Deadly West Virginia House Fire

Relatives of three victims have filed lawsuits over a house fire in Charleston, W.Va., that killed nine people in 2012.

All three lawsuits name the property’s owner, Delores Shamblin of Mammoth, as the defendant.

The Charleston Gazette reports that Gwendolyn LeVert and Sharday McGee filed the lawsuits Friday in Kanawha County Circuit Court.

LeVert’s son, Alexander Lee Seals, and Seals and McGee’s daughters, 4-year-old McKenzie and 6-year-old Gabrielle, were among the victims. McGee filed two lawsuits, one on behalf of each girl.

The lawsuits allege that Shamblin failed to maintain smoke alarms and did nothing about recurring electrical problems.

A message left at a telephone listing for a Delores Shamblin in Mammoth wasn’t immediately returned Monday.

Five other children and another adult were killed in the fire.