Family of man who died from being pinned by stove files lawsuit

GALVESTON - The children of a man who died last year at a beachside home he was renting in Galveston have filed a lawsuit.

According to recent court papers filed July 10 in Galveston County District Court, 76-year-old David Holden Glasser died on Jan. 4, 2012, from asphyxiation as a result of being pinned by the stove.

The Home Depot USA Inc., Hudak & Dawson Construction Co. Inc., AB Sea Sales & Rentals Inc., Morgan Anderson and William T. Etheredge III, doing business as Etheredge Property Management, are named defendants in the case.

Glasser's estate blames Home Depot and Hudak & Dawson for improperly installing the subject stove as well as failing to comply with applicable safety codes when designing and constructing the kitchen while it faults Etheredge, Anderson and AB Sea Sales of renting the unit in question to the decedent "when it was not in a tenantable condition and was unreasonably dangerous."

"The conduct of the defendants, in the design and construction of the stove relative to the island and failing to inspect for any dangerous conditions is a serious violation and was not only ordinary negligence but gross negligence," the original petition says.

Consequently, Glasser's survivors seek unspecified monetary damages.

They are represented by attorney Alton C. Todd of The Law Firm of Alton C. Todd in Friendswood.

Galveston County 122nd District Court Judge John Ellisor is presiding over the case.

Case No. 13-CV-895