POINT PLEASANT—The daughter of a Jackson County woman is suing a Charleston property management company, alleging unlawful seizure and destruction of her mother’s personal property following a fatal accident.
Erin Price of Morgantown filed a lawsuit, individually and as administratrix of the estate of Ellen M. Bailey, July 24 in Mason Circuit Court against Laurel Commons, a New York state-based company doing business in West Virginia, alleging unlawful seizure and breach of contract in 2013.
According to the complaint, on June 13, 2013, Ellen Bailey, a resident of Laurel Commons Apartments in Ravenswood, Jackson County, was killed in a car accident. The suit says after the landlord was informed that Bailey’s family would come to collect her belongings, Bailey's son arrived at her home July 27, 2013, to discover her property was gone.
The lawsuit states at least 25 types of items, many of personal and sentimental value, were confiscated and destroyed. The complaint alleges Laurel Commons failed to notify Bailey’s estate of its intent to seize and destroy the belongings, that it did so illegally, and that the family is entitled to compensation for damages.
Bailey’s family alleges unlawful seizure and destruction of personal property, illegal detainment, wrongful eviction, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and breach of contract. The suit states the defendant's seizing the property of someone killed tragically was outrageous and resulted in severe distress over the loss of personal mementos.
Price seeks compensatory and punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, attorney fees and costs. She is represented by attorneys Eric Holmes and Kevin Harris of the Law Offices of Harris and Holmes in Ripley. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge David W. Nibert.
Mason Circuit Court case number 15-C-105.
