A wrongful death lawsuit was filed in the San Juan County Superior Court on Monday, July 24, regarding the April 3 carbon monoxide poisoning death of Troy J. Sullivan.

Attorney Chris Davis, of the Seattle-based Davis Law Group, filed the complaint on behalf of the estate of Troy J. Sullivan against Edward and Tami Lee Ashcraft, Jim’s Heating and Refrigeration and Inter-Island Propane. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

Sullivan, 31, and Kelli Ashcraft, 21, were discovered dead in a bedroom of a home outside of Friday Harbor that is owned by Edward and Tami Lee Ashcraft. The lawsuit claims the deaths were caused by a negligently repaired heating system inside the residence.

According to the lawsuit, toxicology reports showed that the level of carbon monoxide in Sullivan’s blood was 71 percent carboxyhemoglobin saturation while the average adult human typically contains less than 3 to 5 percent.

The lawsuit alleges that homeowner Edward Ashcraft negligently repaired and modified the house’s heating system under the instruction of two Friday Harbor companies, Jim’s Heating and Refrigeration and Inter-Island Propane, LLC, both of which are owned and operated by Jimmie Lawson, II.

According to the lawsuit, “the repairs and modifications did not satisfy local building safety codes and manufacturer standards.” It claims that the companies “knew about the negligence but took no action to protect occupants or guests of the home.” The lawsuit further alleges that the defendants’ acts and omissions caused Sullivan’s death as a guest at the residence.

Edward Ashcraft had recently installed an undersized plastic PVC vent pipe to the system’s exhaust outlet and the PVC pipe released lethal levels of carbon monoxide gas into the living spaces during the night while Sullivan slept, alleges the lawsuit.

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