An American widow was in court Wednesday seeking 950,000 yuan ($154,945) in compensation from a Shanghai landlord whose negligence she said killed her husband in 2011.
Her deceased husband, William Tuochy, 64, who worked for the Shanghai subsidiary of a Swedish welding equipment manufacture, was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning on October 11, 2011, in an apartment on Xinzha Road in Jing'an district, said Rong Qiongying, the judge presiding over the case in Jing'an District People's Court. Tuochy's employer had rented the 85-square-meter apartment on his behalf for 5,500 yuan per month.
After Tuochy's death, an inspection uncovered a gas leak in the apartment's oven that resulted from the improper installation of a rubber hose, the widow's lawyer said in court.
The rubber hose, which should have been replaced at least once every 18 months, had not been changed for four to five years, Rong told the Global Times.
The widow blamed the leaky hose on the apartment's landlord, Liu Ping.
In court, Liu's lawyer insisted that it was Tuochy's own misuse of the gas that led to his death. The lawyer also criticized the inspection because it was based on a photograph.
The widow's claim included wrongful death compensation of 640,000 yuan, 150,000 yuan for her emotional distress and 28,000 yuan to cover her husband's funeral expenses, her lawyer said.
The widow's compensation demand rivals the 960,000 yuan that the municipal government paid to the families of the victims of the 2010 Jiaozhou Road fire. The amount was considered the highest in China at the time.
Under the court's mediation, the widow lawyer's agreed to reduce the amount to 700,000 yuan, but Liu refused, saying it was still too high. She capped her counteroffer at 300,000 yuan.
Rong said the result of the inspection was persuasive and the plaintiff's demand for 700,000 yuan was reasonable.
The court did not reach a decision Wednesday. Instead, the judge asked the parties to take one more shot at settling the case out of court. If the negotiations fail again, however, the court will make a decision, Rong said.