In April 2011, a landlord surnamed Liu signed a contract with a Shanghai equipment company to lease his apartment on Xinzha Lu. Effective from May 2011 to April 2012, an American employee with the company named William moved in on the lease.
On October 11, 2011, William was killed by carbon monoxide poisoning, caused by a gas leak from a broken pipe. William’s wife took Mr. Liu and the gas company to court, asking for 948,000 RMB in compensation. However, the landlord, the gas company and the estate agents of the apartment all refused to accept responsibility for the incident and tried to pass the blame across to the other parties.
In February 2013, the Shanghai Quality Inspection Association discovered that the leak had been caused by a decrepit rubber hose that was sealing the pipe. On May 26, the Jing’an Court began the hearing of the case in which William’s wife pressed for compensation from the landlord. However her claim was unsuccessful, apparently because the difference between the amounts of compensation demanded by the wife and offered by the landlord was too large.
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Keywords: gas leak death Shanghai Shanghai foreigner
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Where is the justice at? Someone needs to make these people pay. I say the wife should pay a hit man and take the landlord, lawyer, judge, and hose manufacturer out. See will get more justice than gets in the courts. You cant depend on the law or courts here for nothing. Hypercrites!
Jun 01, 2013 09:01 Report Abuse
Would have been done in the wild west. This is the wild east. Bo the Kid could be out there.
Jun 01, 2013 14:17 Report Abuse
Does this mean i can kill anyone i want and when someone asks for say, 1 million in compensation, i counter that with 1rmb and the case will be thrown out. Murder away people. It be killin time in all of these here Chinas
May 29, 2013 09:07 Report Abuse
leaving the illegality of "kill anyone" in the middle - if your victim's average annual salary, on which tax was paid in the last year in the same district where the lawsuit was filed =< the amount the victim's family requests - then it will be granted under provision of administrative code. the amount is seldom able to go over 100 000 yuan. if this amount is =>, then you make a good chance of having it annulled, significantly reduced or even thrown out if appealed at the provincial court. the quest lies in finding a Chinese lawyer whom a) has experienced the above b) in English c) and comes prepared to go such lengths for a foreigner (good luck)
May 31, 2013 17:21 Report Abuse
So some people can kill certain people. So all those of you that can, fill your murdering boots.
Jun 01, 2013 14:15 Report Abuse
"However her claim was unsuccessful, apparently because the difference between the amounts of compensation demanded by the wife and offered by the landlord was too large." That's a creative way to deny compensation.
May 28, 2013 08:09 Report Abuse
compensation is based on last year's *average* annual salary of *tax-paying* Chinese(!) nationals employed in the same position as the foreigner in the same district as the lawsuit was filed - multiplied by days/weeks/months. based on this calculation, you will almost never see more than 100 000 yuan per year. the amount demanded is very probably ten plus times over the legal calculation. it's just unreasonable (in prc code).
May 28, 2013 11:05 Report Abuse
they are american lawyers on z visa giving legal advice about china. they are not chinese lawyers, are not allowed to legally represent clients, their chinese companies registered as consultancies because they are prohibited from using the term "lawyer" and they are not allowed into a chinese court room.
May 31, 2013 17:11 Report Abuse
Fair enough. You must pass the bar to argue in court in China and the same is true in the U.S. It would be interesting if a reciprocity agreement was enacted to allow a pro hac vice arrangement, but as I understand it, from Chinese sources, justice here is based on hongbao paid to the judge, and the question of your nationality and that of your opponent, thus the definition of a 'good lawyer' differs. In my opinion, Chinalawblog knows this country and offer insight, information and advice, so I visit their website.
Jun 01, 2013 09:50 Report Abuse
Why is hell is CO even being sent through hoses? Must be some advanced form of urban onsite CO sequestration.
May 27, 2013 21:09 Report Abuse
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