A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Atmos Energy over the gas explosion that destroyed an Oak Cliff apartment building and killed three people in May, alleging the utility company failed to properly mark its gas lines before the blast.
The lawsuit was brought by personal injury attorney Ted Lyon on behalf of the family of Marisol Perez and her 18-month-old son, Erick, who died in the explosion, along with their surviving 10-year-old daughter, who escaped the wreckage. A third victim, longtime Dallas County Democratic Party precinct chair Sylvia Collins, was also killed in the blast, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The explosion leveled The Clyde apartment complex near Patton Avenue and East Ninth Street on May 28. Dallas Fire-Rescue said the two-story, 22-unit building had 19 occupied units at the time of the blast. Five other people were hospitalized, and Fire Chief Justin Ball said crews had responded to a reported gas leak minutes before the explosion occurred as firefighters were preparing to evacuate residents.
The lawsuit claims Atmos did not properly mark its underground gas lines in the area and failed to act on prior leak reports near the apartment complex, per NBC DFW. According to the filing, gas accumulated until contractors – who had properly called 811 before digging, the required step for locating buried utility lines – struck an unmarked service line, triggering the explosion.
Lyon said the company’s conduct amounted to more than simple negligence, saying, “Atmos is grossly negligent.” He also told reporters he believes the company’s actions could rise to the level of a criminal case.
A key element of the lawsuit centers on AI technology, claiming Atmos relied on an artificial intelligence-based line-locating service called “KorTerra” to generate mapping data to help identify where its gas lines run. However, the suit alleges that the system was only as reliable as the information Atmos fed into it, and that the company did not know where its own lines were located.
The lawsuit also accuses Atmos of mismarking multiple other gas lines in the area.
Atmos has not addressed the allegations related to their AI system directly. When asked about the specific claims in the lawsuit, the company pointed to a previously issued statement that made no mention of the KorTerra system or line-locating technology.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) preliminary report on the explosion likewise made no reference to AI-based locating tools, though it did find that the gas line struck on May 28 had not been marked properly by the company.
The lawsuit is the second legal action filed against Atmos in connection with the explosion. The first, filed by a survivor days after the blast, alleged the utility failed to properly mark the gas line involved in the incident.
The disaster itself drew scrutiny in its immediate aftermath over whether residents could have been evacuated in time. Dallas Fire-Rescue crews arrived within two minutes of the initial leak report and were preparing to clear the building when the explosion occurred roughly 10 to 15 minutes later.
Fire Chief Ball has since defended his department’s response, saying firefighters followed standard protocol and that no time was lost. “No time was wasted,” Ball said. “They got here really fast; did everything they are supposed to do.”
No first responders were injured in the explosion. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins previously said officials would not release victims’ names publicly until families had been notified.
Atmos has not filed a formal response to the wrongful death lawsuit and has not responded to inquiry for comment from DX as of the time of publication.
Provided by Dallas Express
