The father of one of the victims of the fire that ravaged a building in Old Montreal is bringing a class action against the owner of the premises, the landlord of the accommodations and the company Airbnb.
Randy Sears lost his son Nathan, 35 and a doctor of political science, during the fire which claimed a total of seven victims on March 16, on Place d’Youville. The young man was passing through Montreal to attend a conference in international studies and had rented accommodation in the building which was destroyed by the flames.
His father Randy is suing the owner of the building, Emile-Haim Benamor, the landlord of the Airbnb accommodations that existed there, Tarik Hassan, for a sum of 22 million dollars, as well as the Airbnb company itself.
” [Emile Benamor] failed and neglected its obligation to ensure that all rental accommodation in the building complied with rules and regulations holding minimum health and safety standards […] “, can we read in the lawsuit.
Tarik Hassan, also targeted by the lawsuit, rented accommodation in Mr. Benamor’s building and then posted them on Airbnb for short-term stays. These accommodations did not comply with municipal regulations concerning Airbnb.
The lawsuit also accuses the Airbnb company of having “allowed the posting of advertisements not authorized by the Government of Quebec and therefore illegal. »
The plaintiff seeks compensatory damages, the amount of which remains to be determined, as well as punitive damages in the amount of $22 million.
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