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Old Montreal fire: Father of victim seeks $22 million in class action lawsuit

Lawsuit alleges Airbnb "failed and neglected to verify the Airbnb units available for rent in the building and ensure that they were safe."

Nathan Sears died in a fire at an Old Montreal building on March 16, 2023. His father, New Brunswick resident Randy Sears, has filed a $22-million lawsuit against the owner of the building, a man who was renting Airbnb apartments inside it and four companies that fall under the Airbnb umbrella.
Nathan Sears died in a fire at an Old Montreal building on March 16, 2023. His father, New Brunswick resident Randy Sears, has filed a $22-million lawsuit against the owner of the building, a man who was renting Airbnb apartments inside it and four companies that fall under the Airbnb umbrella. Photo by Facebook

The father of one of the seven victims of the deadly fire in Old Montreal has filed a $22-million lawsuit against the building’s owner, a man who was renting Airbnb apartments inside it and four companies that fall under the Airbnb umbrella.

The person who filed the lawsuit at the Montreal courthouse is New Brunswick resident Randy Sears, the father of Nathan Sears, one of the people who died in the fire on March 16 at the corner of Du Port St. and Place d’Youville. According to the lawsuit, Sears was staying in one of the Airbnb apartments inside the building.

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The lawsuit was filed against Emile-Haim Benamor, the lawyer who owns the property, Tariq Hasan, a man who was renting Airbnb apartments inside it and four different companies under the Airbnb umbrella, including Airbnb Canada Inc.

Sears is seeking a class action suit for punitive damages on behalf of everyone who was inside the building when the fire broke out as well as the estates of those who died in the blaze.

The document quotes from a press conference, held on March 28, when Montreal police Inspector David Shane said 22 people were inside the building when the fire broke out and nine people were treated for injuries.

Nathan Sears is described in the lawsuit as “a 35-year-old academic from Toronto who (held) a PhD in political science. He was a husband, son and brother. On March 16, 2023, he was in Montreal for the International Studies Association conference.”

The lawsuit alleges Benamor “failed and neglected in his obligation to ensure that the rental units in the building complied with the rules and regulations pertaining to minimum standards for health, safety, housing and maintenance.”

It goes on to list a dozen more allegations against Benamor, including he “ought to have known that the city did not allow short-term rentals in the area” and “neglected to ensure that each apartment was equipped with a properly functioning smoke detector.”

Last week, Benamor’s lawyer, Alexandre Bergevin, told reporters Hasan rented Airbnb apartments inside the building. The Montreal Gazette left a message with Bergevin on Friday seeking comment on the lawsuit. Hasan could not be reached for comment. The lawsuit lists his place of business as being in the St-Laurent borough.

The lawsuit alleges Hasan “failed and neglected in his obligation to ensure that the rental units in the building he listed on Airbnb complied with the rules and regulations pertaining to minimum standards for health, safety, housing and maintenance.”

For Airbnb’s part, the lawsuit alleges it “failed and neglected to verify the Airbnb units available for rent in the building and ensure that they were safe and secure for guests.

“They acted without due regard for the health and safety of the Airbnb guests.”

The allegations contained in the lawsuit have not been proved in a court of law.

In a letter sent last week to Quebec Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx, Nathan Rotman, regional policy director of Airbnb Canada Inc., wrote: “For several years, we’ve engaged with your office to examine what more could be done to develop measures and increase awareness and compliance with the registration system.”

pcherry@postmedia.com