FRESNO – The parent of a man who drowned while on an expedition in Kings Canyon National Forest has filed a wrongful death suit against one of man's companions.
Dante Chiarabini, as personal representative of the estate of Luca Chiarabini, filed a complaint on July 27 in the Fresno County Superior Court against Richard Ianniello and Does 1-10 alleging wrongful death.
According to the complaint, on Aug. 3, 2017, Luca Chiarabini was on a wilderness canyoneering expedition with Ianniello and another companion, William Hunt.
The suit states as the decedent attempted to cross the Kings River in the Kings Canyon National Forest, he explicitly instructed defendant Ianniello to properly anchor the rope so that he did not drift into the rapids, which were located downstream. The suit states Ianniello failed to execute this, causing the decedent to be swept downstream.
The plaintiff holds Ianniello and Does 1-10 responsible because the defendants allegedly allowed the rope to extend past the knot connected the ropes against instruction, failed to properly anchor the rope and failed to keep Chiarabini in sight.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment against defendants for general and special damages, interest, funeral and burial expenses, costs of suit, and further relief as the court deems just. The plaintiff is represented by Grant G. Teeple, Frederick M. Reich and Christine T. Levu of Teeple Hall LLP in San Diego.
Fresno County Superior Court case number 18-CECG-02801