A Cook County woman is suing a Glenview-based residential service provider, charging negligence, property damage and breach of warranty in an alleged major appliance failure when her furnace burst into flames in 2014.
Genevieve Stegeman of Northbrook brought a complaint against North Shore Heating & Cooling Corp. on Sept. 11 in Cook County Circuit Court, Law Division alleging that the company endangered her home while servicing her furnace in June 2014.
According to the complaint, when the service company performed work on the plaintiff’s furnace on June 12, the technician allegedly left a safety switch disconnected, bypassed or otherwise disabled. The suit states that the furnace ignited within minutes of the defendant’s work, while the technician was still present.
The safety switch subsequently could not shut down the unit’s gas burners, causing the appliance to catch fire from overheating, the suit states.
Stating that a residential furnace does not catch fire immediately after work is performed unless that work was done negligently, the lawsuit charges the defendant with breach of warranty of workmanship.
The plaintiff maintains that North Shore was negligent in its service and supervision.
Stegeman demands judgment in the amount of $127,927.37 plus investigative costs, attorneys’ fees and other related costs. She is represented by Richard Strawbridge of Sneckenberg, Thompson & Brody in Chicago.
Cook County Circuit Court, Law Division case number 2015009341