Atmos Energy has filed a lawsuit seeking to be absolved from cases that seek damages in the wake of the Sandman Hotel explosion that occurred earlier this month.
The natural gas company claims that it has been named as a responsible party in nine lawsuits representing 33 people, according to The Dallas Morning News. In these cases, the company seeks a judgment that would release it from liability.
This lawsuit also seeks to prevent other entities, such as Northland Properties, from changing the existing condition of the hotel basement. In addition, Atmos Energy wishes to preserve all documents, photos, and more related to the explosion and gas line installation and repairs.
Atmos Energy issued a statement four days after the explosion claiming that its own investigation concluded that it had found “no indication” that its systems had been involved in the blast. However, lawsuits filed on behalf of those affected by the explosion have claimed negligence on the part of the operators, with some claiming that they had smelled gas before the explosion occurred.
Lawyers on behalf of Atmos Energy are seeking to allow the company to gather more evidence from the hotel.
“The evidence that will ultimately show the source of the gas leak that caused the explosion is located somewhere within the Hotel, which is controlled, either directly or indirectly, by Northland,” read the lawsuit, per DMN.
“Because that evidence is expected to demonstrate that Northland or its affiliates, tenants, or subtenants bear legal responsibility for the explosion, they have little incentive to proactively preserve or protect the critical evidence from spoliation or to cooperate with or permit Atmos Energy and the other claimants to participate in the investigation and collection of that evidence.”
This lawsuit claims that an unnamed individual had called the company’s emergency line, alerting them to the possibility of a leak minutes before the explosion. The document claims that the Atmos representative had apprised the caller of emergency procedures, such as evacuation, which the caller had acknowledged. However, the company says there is no indication that its recommendations were acted upon.
If granted, a temporary restraining order would go into effect through March 31 or the completion of the second requested inspection.
Over three weeks have passed since the explosion occurred in a basement-level restaurant of the Sandman Hotel in Fort Worth, injuring 21 people.
Multiple lawsuits have been filed on behalf of injured citizens naming Atmos and other hotel operators as litigants, one of which is seeking $177 million in damages, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.