Suit: Landlords' failure to remove flood water led to tenant's death

A woman is suing over claims her father was injured and later died when his basement apartment flooded.

Anetra Cherry, as special administrator of the Estate of Willie Usry, filed a wrongful death lawsuit Sept. 22 in Cook County Circuit Court against Owner's Realty Group, 7823 S. Essex and Marvis Hardy.

According to the complaint, Usry was the tenant of the basement apartment in a building  owned and managed by the defendants on Sept. 7, 2012, when the pipes in the building burst and flooded his apartment.

Cherry claims she and Usry notified the landlords that water needed to be removed immediately because Usry was on oxygen. The suit states the defendants failed to do so, causing Usry to sustain injuries and ultimately die.

Cherry is seeking more than $50,000 in damages, plus court costs, and is represented by attorney Michael D. Spinak of Spinak & Babcock in Chicago.

Cook County Circuit Court case number: 2014L009876.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt and it only represents one side of the story.