COLUMBIA, S.C. — On February 7, 2019, Hemphill Pride filed a lawsuit against the Columbia Housing Authority.
He filed it on behalf of several residents who were living in the Allen-Benedict Court complex, and were later forced to move.
"I'm a healthy person and I don't know if I can handle someone telling me to get all of my things and move within 48 hours," says Pride.
More than 400 people were told to evacuate from the complex after learning that 30 year old Derrick Roper and 61 year old Calvin Witherspoon Jr. had died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
The lawsuit alleges that the Columbia Housing Authority was negligent in addressing gas leaks that were reported to property maintenance by residents.
Right now the lawsuit is still in the discovery phase, meaning information is still being collected.
However, in November of 2019, the 5th Circuit Solicitor announced that no charges were issued after the Columbia Police Department's investigation into the deaths.
"I was shocked and appalled," says Pride. "The fire chief here in Columbia stated publicly on television that two years prior to Mr. Roper and Mr. Witherspoon being killed over there, that he had given notice to Mr. Gilbert and the Columbia housing authority that modifications needed to be done and they were not done. And I do know that Gilbert came out and said he didn't know anything about that. That's not sufficient to avoid criminal liability."
Shortly after Witherspoon and Roper's bodies were discovered, the Columbia Fire Department issued nearly two dozen fire code violations. Including violations with carbon monoxide detectors and appliances leaking gas.
Pride says his clients were living in deadly conditions.
"I want my clients to walk away with adequate compensations for the injuries and damaged they sustained."
The Columbia Housing Authority faces four other civil lawsuits, all alleging that the authority was negligent in making repairs to different units at Allen-Benedict Court.
A civil jury trial is expected in February for two of those lawsuits.