In a harrowing legal battle, the family of a young woman who tragically died from carbon monoxide poisoning in an Airbnb rental is seeking justice. The complaint was filed by Kelvin Florence and Freida Florence, individually and as representatives of Kandace Florence's estate, against Airbnb, Inc., Airbnb Payments, Inc., and Airbnb Travel, LLC in the Superior Court of California for the County of San Francisco on October 22, 2024.
The lawsuit centers around the untimely death of Kandace Florence, who succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning while staying at an Airbnb property in Mexico City on October 30, 2022. According to the complaint, a defective gas-powered water heater inside the rental unit emitted lethal levels of carbon monoxide. Tragically, two friends accompanying her—Jordan Marshall and Courtez Hall—also perished in the incident. The plaintiffs argue that Airbnb failed to ensure safety measures were in place at their rentals despite being aware of similar past incidents involving carbon monoxide poisoning at properties listed on their platform.
Kelvin and Freida Florence accuse Airbnb of negligence and premises liability. They claim that Airbnb did not require hosts to install essential life-saving devices like carbon monoxide detectors, despite recognizing the risks as early as 2014. Instead, they allege that Airbnb offered an optional program for hosts to obtain free detectors but never mandated their installation. Furthermore, they assert that Airbnb inadequately warned both hosts and guests about potential dangers associated with gas-powered appliances in foreign short-term rentals.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages exceeding $35,000 for loss of love, affection, companionship, financial support from Kandace Florence’s earnings, funeral expenses, and other recoverable damages under law. They also demand punitive damages for what they describe as willful neglect by Airbnb to protect its users from foreseeable harm.
Representing the plaintiffs are attorneys Timothy A. Loranger and Matthew P. French from Wisner Baum LLP based in Los Angeles; Pedro Echarte and Michael Haggard from The Haggard Law Firm located in Coral Gables; along with Christopher Stewart and Michael Roth from Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys based in Atlanta. The case is identified under Case No: CGC-24-619161.