Companies named in Cape Breton fatal fire lawsuit deny liability

CBC
·1-min read
Rajesh Gollapudi died when the Sydney duplex he and seven other people lived in caught fire in December 2022. (Erin Pottie/CBC - image credit)
Rajesh Gollapudi died when the Sydney duplex he and seven other people lived in caught fire in December 2022. (Erin Pottie/CBC - image credit)

Two companies being sued by the family of a 34-year-old international student who died in a duplex fire in Cape Breton in 2022 are denying any and all liability — and are shifting the blame to two of the victim's roommates.

Rajesh Gollapudi was living in the apartment with seven other students at the time of his death on Dec. 17, 2022. He had been a Cape Breton University student. His father filed a lawsuit alleging his son was unable to escape the fire due to a lack of fire safety measures.

The landlords — Hanover Storage Inc. and 4389064 Nova Scotia Ltd. — have been charged under Nova Scotia's Fire Safety Act.

A graduate student from India was killed after a fatal house fire on Park Street in Sydney last December.
A graduate student from India was killed after a fatal house fire on Park Street in Sydney last December.

The duplex was on Park Street in Sydney. (Josefa Cameron/CBC)

They have since filed a notice of defence in the civil suit through the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia denying any liability in the fire and citing several factors they say showed negligence on behalf of their tenants.

The notice of defence includes a statement of cross-claim against two of Gollapudi's roommates, Sai Vidaddi and Ajay Chowdary.

The companies claim the students violated the terms of their lease by:

  • Smoking on the premises.

  • Storing tires and/or other flammable or hazardous materials on the premises.

  • Not storing trash properly.

  • Failing to report lease violations.

  • Failing to maintain smoke detectors.

Vidaddi and Chowdary have not responded to the claims yet and none of the allegations against them have been proven in court.

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