Son Seeks Justice for Wrongful Death of Parents in Long Beach Apartment Blaze

Paradise Garden is a fiery nightmare for Somesh Gyan. In December 2006, Gyan's parents were visiting from India, where they led a spiritual organization. The couple was preparing to fly home when a blaze sparked by a cooking incident two floors below raced through the Long Beach apartment building, trapping them on the third floor. They died just five feet from the stairway exit.

Personal Injury attorneys Howard Krepack and Eugenia Steele are representing Gyan, 32, in a wrongful-death lawsuit against Paradise Garden Apartments. The case is finally proceeding toward trial after Krepack and Steele defeated two attempts by the defendants to have the lawsuit dismissed.

"Evidence showed that the three-story building did not have a fully operative, centralized smoke alarm, was missing fire doors near the exits, and violated other fire code regulations," Krepack said.