Suits blame landlord for fatal 2012 Charleston fire

CHARLESTON -- Three lawsuits have been filed in connection with a house fire that left nine people, including seven children, dead.

The suits were filed March 21 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Delores Shamblen, the landlord of the home on Charleston's West Side that caught fire March 24, 2012.

The complaints, filed by Wheeling attorneys Jeffrey Grove and David Delk, say Shamblen had been told about electrical problems at the home but did nothing to correct them. The complaints also say she did not maintain smoke alarms at the home.

Gwendolyn LeVert, the mother of Alexander Lee Seals, filed one lawsuit on behalf of her late adult son. The other two suits were filed by Sharday McGee, the mother of McKenzie and Gabrielle Seals, two of the children who died in the fire.

The complaints seek compensatory damages for all injuries, deaths and funeral expenses. They also seek punitive damages.

Kanawha Circuit Court case numbers: 14-C-574 (McKenzie Seals), 14-C-575 (Alexander Lee Seals), 14-C-576 (Gabrielle Seals