MARTINSBURG – A woman who blamed five corporate defendants for her pajamas catching on fire while she was next to a propane heater has lost her lawsuit.
Mischelle Holohan blamed J.C. Penney, ABC Retail, Enerco Group and subsidiary Mr. Heater Corp. and the unknown manufacturer of Mix-It Pajamas in a lawsuit filed Feb. 3, 2012, in Berkeley County Circuit Court.
Holohan claimed her “ladies pajamas burst into flames” on Feb. 5, 2010.
On June 1, F. Samuel Byrer withdrew as Holohan’s attorney. He cited “a breakdown in the attorney-client relationship.”
Six months later, Judge Christopher Wilkes ordered Holohan to file a motion showing good cause why the case should not be dismissed. Wilkes said it had been 120 days since there was any movement in the case.
On Jan. 2, Wilkes dismissed the case.
Holohan said the pajamas she purchased at J.C. Penney that were distributed by ABC Retail and made by the unknown manufacturer defendant went up in flames while near a tank-top propane heater made by Mr. Heater.
The pajamas were defective and not safe for their intended use, the suit said.
“The defendants should’ve known the pajamas were not treated in a manner to adequately retard and diminish the flammability of the fabric,” the suit said.
The defendants breached the implied warranty of fitness merchantability by placing the “easily flammable” pajamas in the stream of commerce, Holohan alleged.
She said she suffered fear, fright, anxiety, mental distress, humiliation, disfigurement, burns and scarring.
From the West Virginia Record: Reach John O’Brien at jobrienwv@gmail.com.
Berkeley County pajama fire lawsuit dismissed
