Structured settlements

Another chapter is closed in the story of a 17-year-old North Branch boy who died by carbon monoxide poisoning at his family’s home on 412th Street on Dec. 5, 2006.

In January 2008, Mitchell Carlson and Penny Pliscott, parents of Andrew Carlson, sued the installer and manufacturer of the furnace that was considered at fault for the death.

On Feb. 26 of this year, the family settled out of court for a structured annuity sum of $750,000, according to court documents, a third of which went to Carlson and Pliscott’s attorneys, Burke and Thomas, PLLP. Which plaintiffs paid the settlement is confidential, though.

Incident sparked new state law
The tragic incident was a catalyst for a new law requiring carbon monoxide detectors in homes across the state.

In 2006, the state legislature enacted a law that required new home constructions and multi-family homes to have at least one carbon monoxide detector within 10 feet of each bedroom.

In 2008, that law expanded to include existing single-family homes.

Third-party suit
In response to the January 2008 suit, the installer of the furnace, Indoor Comfort Systems of Wyoming, sued the City of North Branch, alleging that its building inspector negligently issued a Certificate of Occupancy for the home. The manufacturer of the furnace, NY Thermal of Ontario, Canada, joined this suit.

This was dismissed in February 2009. By state law, cities are generally immune from negligence claims because the issuance of certificates of occupancy are considered “discretionary,” according to the court documents. In other words, when a city issues a certificate of occupancy, it is doing so as a general act of public good and not guaranteeing that each structure strictly adheres to safety standards.

Carlson’s and Pliscott’s lawyer, Richard Thomas, said this secondary lawsuit was frustrating because it complicated things, but also said he and his clients are satisfied with settlement.

“The installer claim delayed things,” he said, “but it’s their right to pursue it.”

The timeline
According to court documents, the following occurred:

The timeline of the events begins with Carlson and Pliscott’s intention to build a new modular home on their property.

The couple retained Tony Kubat (doing business as Twin Oaks Construction) to be general contractor, who set Dec. 1, 2006, as the date the city building inspector would come to do a final inspection and presumably issue a certificate of occupancy. Upon issuance, Kubat allegedly told the family they could move into their new home.

The couple’s old home, which was residing on the same property as their new one, had to be rendered uninhabitable because North Branch zoning ordinances did not allow both homes to coexist on the property.

To do this, contractors had to destroy the septic tank.

Kubat was responsible for overseeing the framing of the garage, the insulation of the basement walls, shingling the garage roof, scheduling subcontractors and as an overall supervisor of the project.

He hired Charles Friend of Indoor Comfort Systems to install a boiler in the new home. It was a combination wood-gas furnace.

As he was working on the installation, Friend indicated that the task was going to take longer than he originally had thought.

On Dec. 1 (inspection day), Friend told Kubat and Carlson that he was not sure he would be able to finish the installation by the end of the day.

Mark Jones, a city building inspector at the time, inspected the home and recommended the issuance of the certificate of occupancy.

What parties involved were unaware of was, according to court documents, that Friend had not done the following three tasks:

• Installing a natural gas-to-propane conversion kit;

• Hooking up the air intake vent piping from the hole in the wall to the furnace to allow for proper ventilation;

• Installing elbows on the exterior air exhaust and air intake pipes to push the air away from the house.

In court papers, Friend insisted that was given improper instruction on installation at a NY Thermal seminar, and NY Thermal counters that Friend properly installed it.

On Dec. 1, 2006, North Branch issued a certificate of occupancy and, because the Carlson-Pliscott family’s old home was uninhabitable, they moved into the new one.

On Dec. 3, Pliscott and Carlson started becoming sick. Two of their three children complained of headaches and vomiting.

On Dec. 4, Andrew Carlson came home and went to his room.

On Dec. 5, Carlson and Pliscott discovered Andrew Carlson’s body.

An ECM Post Review Web-only story on that same day filled in some of the gaps.

At around 12:36 a.m. on the morning of Dec. 5, Carlson was arrested for a suspected DWI.

According to the North Branch Police Department (NBPD) at the time, the arrest took place after employees of the I-35 interchange Holiday Stationstore called 911. Carlson had apparently hit a post in the parking lot of the gas station with his car.

NBPD Sgt. Rick Sapp responded and performed a breathalyzer test on Carlson.

Although the results of that test were not released, the NBPD said that Carlson displayed probable cause for the arrest through his actions at the time.

He was taken to an area hospital for a blood draw before being booked into the Chisago County Jail for fourth degree DWI at 3:15 a.m.

NBPD Chief Steve Forner speculated Tuesday morning that, in retrospect, what Sapp was observing in Carlson may have been the early signs of CO poisoning.

Upon release, Carlson was transported home from the jail by a relative.

Sometime later, Mitchell Carlson and Pliscott discovered that the two younger children were feeling ill.

At some point in the early morning, NBPD said it was believed that one or both of the heads of the household went to a local gas station to pick up soda or juice to cure the upset stomachs and returned to the home.

Around 6 a.m., Carlson and Pliscott discovered Andrew Carlson, apparently already dead, and transported the younger children to the Conoco gas station in North Branch where they called 911.

The Post Review could not contact Carlson or Pliscott by press time.

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