Three families are filing a lawsuit against Airbnb after their loved ones died from carbon monoxide poisoning at a Mexico City apartment.
Jordan Marshall, 38; Kandace Florence, 28; and Cortez Hall, 33, were found dead inside a vacation rental on October 30.
Atlanta-based Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys told DailyMail.com that the wrongful death lawsuit should be filed in a California court in the next two weeks.
The suit is also seeking to force Airbnb to mandate that detectors are installed in all vacation rentals offered by the site.
Attorney Chris Stewart said: ‘With the lawsuit we’re trying to get Airbnb to be accountable for the tragic loss of these three phenomenal individuals and we’re also really begging, mandating, asking that Airbnb mandate that all listings have carbon monoxide detectors.’
‘Not make it optional, not suggested to them, but they have the power to mandate it and save lives,’ he added.
Virginia resident Kandace Florence flew to Mexico City to celebrate the Day of Dead festivities with two of her friends. On October 30, they were all found dead in the Airbnb apartment they rented, having died of carbon monoxide poisoning
Jordan Marshall was among the three Americans found dead October 30 in a Mexico City Airbnb due to carbon monoxide poisoning
Cortez Hall died alongside two of his friends while vacationing in Mexico City on October 30
The trio were visiting the Mexican capital to celebrate the Day of the Dead festivities. They had been out for dinner and drinks on October 29, arriving back at the apartment in the early hours of the morning on October 30.
Florence’s boyfriend, Victor Day, previously told El País newspaper that he received messages from her indicating she was feeling ill prior to arriving at the apartment.
They then spoke by video and the conversation paused on several occasions as Florence vomited. Day remembered Florence ‘was visibly shaking’ and questioned whether she had left her drinks unattended while she was at the bar.
‘Mexico is not a country where you can be careless,’ he warned her. ‘It’s very dangerous.’
They ended the call so that Florence could rest. Day tried calling back later, and when she failed to answer, he placed a phone call to the Airbnb host and asked if they could do a wellness check.
He later received the harrowing news that all three were dead.
The Mexico City attorney general’s office confirmed to DailyMail.com two days later that Florence, Marshall, and Hall had ‘died of carbon monoxide poisoning’ and that there was a strong odor of gas in the apartment.
El País newspaper reported that Kandace Florence texted her boyfriend ‘I feel like I’ve been drugged. Like I’ve have taken ecstasy, but I haven’t’ moments before she died in her Mexico City Airbnb on October 30
The family of Cortez Hall had only been teaching for one year at a charter school in New Orleans
Jordan Marshall was one of three Americans who were found dead inside a Mexico City Airbnb on October 30 due to carbon monoxide poisoning. The 28-year-old spent about six years teaching in Washington D.C. after graduating from Hampton University and accepted a position in New Orleans last year as a 12th grade English teacher
Stewart said it is not known if the apartment was equipped with a carbon monoxide detector, but that Airbnb should make it a requirement for each rental to have a functioning one in place.
‘They offered their condolences, but we are asking that they mandate nationally in America and internationally that carbon monoxide detectors are required,’ Stewart said.
‘They banned parties at any Airbnb listing, nationally and internationally. They can easily do this with carbon monoxide,’ he added.
The apartment in question was removed from the Airbnb’s website listing page in the days following the deaths.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, Airbnb said: ‘This is a terrible tragedy, and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones as they grieve such an unimaginable loss. Our priority right now is supporting those impacted as the authorities investigate what happened, and we stand ready to assist with their inquiries however we can.’
The company added that it launched a campaign in June aimed at rental hosts ‘to promote safety best practices.’
It ramped up efforts to speed up the delivery of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors that were being provided free of charge.
‘We encourage all Hosts to confirm that they have a smoke and CO detector installed, and homes that report having a detector are clearly marked, so this information is visible to guests,’ Airbnb said.
‘Guests can also filter listings by homes that report having them. If a guest books a listing where a (host) has not yet reported detectors present, we flag this so they’re aware and can take precautionary as needed.’
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