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Parents Sue Home Builder In Deaths

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By TODD LESKANIC

tleskanic@tampatrib.com

Published: January 8, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - Although investigators determined the carbon monoxide deaths of Jules and Parker Baudin were accidental, the boys' parents are assigning blame.

Barbara and Kirby Baudin have sued Lexington Homes Inc., saying a poorly designed air conditioning system caused the deadly gas to be sucked from the garage into the living area of their rented villa.
Barbara Baudin parked the family's minivan in the garage on Saturday, July 7, 2007, but neglected to turn off the vehicle's engine. Two days later, she awoke and found her two older sons unconscious: Parker, 12, in bed next to her and 14-year-old Jules in his own bed. She called 911 but the boys were dead by the time medical help arrived.
Barbara Baudin was taken to the hospital, where she was treated for carbon monoxide poisoning and released after two days. Kirby Baudin was out of town on business at the time, and the couple's youngest son, Logan, had slept at a friend's house.

The Baudins filed the lawsuit Dec. 22 in Pasco County Circuit Court. Philip L. Perry III, who owns the villa at 4605 Casswell Drive, is also named as a defendant. Perry couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.

Port Richey-based Lexington Homes was founded in 1995 and has built homes or communities in Pasco, Citrus, Hernando, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, among others, according to the company Web site. The company's most notable Pasco community is Lake Jovita.

Louis Lacava, a Lexington attorney, said he had not seen the complaint but denied any wrongdoing by his client.

"It's our position that neither Lexington nor anyone associated with it did anything wrong in this," Lacava said. "It just appears that someone left their car running in their garage, which is not the thing to do."

The Baudins couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday. In an interview shortly after the incident, Barbara Baudin said she remembered making pizza for her sons on the Saturday night but had no recollection of Sunday. When she awoke Monday, she was dehydrated, weak and couldn't walk without falling.

"I remember having the keys in the car. I've done that before," she said in the interview. "But I don't remember the car running."

Investigators found the minivan parked in the closed garage with keys in the ignition and the ignition in the "on" position. The van's gas tank was empty.

"It was certainly foreseeable to the Defendants and/or any reasonable person that a vehicle could be left running in a closed garage," the complaint states.

Steven Marks, the Baudins' Miami-based attorney, said people often get distracted and leave their cars running accidentally.

The real problem, Marks said, is that the villa's air conditioning unit was in the garage.

"Go around town and see if you see this anywhere else," Marks said. "The air units are usually on pads next to the house where there's clear ventilation and where you don't even see trees around because you want fresh air. The last place you want to suck in air is from a garage."

Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (727) 815-1084.

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