The family of a child who died of a fentanyl overdose while staying in a Florida Airbnb rental is suing the property owner, the property manager, and a previous tenant for wrongful death, according to the lawsuit.
The family of Enora Lavenir, who was 19 months old, rented a Wellington, Florida, property through Airbnb in August 2021. A lawsuit brought by the child’s mother, Lydie Lavenir, claims the day after the family checked in, she found her daughter “unresponsive and foaming at the mouth.”
The medical examiner determined the cause of death was acute fentanyl toxicity, and the timing of the child’s death pointed conclusively to her exposure to the drug occurring at the property, per the lawsuit.
Family files lawsuit after 19-month-old daughter dies from fentanyl exposure in Airbnb https://t.co/XBouVs3Tby
— WPBF 25 News (@WPBF25News) March 8, 2023
The lawsuit said, between July and August, the property was being used for parties. It also claimed a party of 11 adults had checked in just days before the Lavenirs visited.
Aaron Kornhouser, who is named as a defendant in the suit, allegedly “brought, and/or knowingly permitted others to bring, illicit drugs to the subject premises.” Fentanyl is named among the drugs the party is believed to have possessed while staying at the residence.
WBPF reported Kornhouser indicated to Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Deputies “that the group of individuals who stayed at the residence had used cocaine in the residence and marijuana (weed) was also used in the residence. He is familiar with fentanyl and stated that there is no fentanyl in the residence.”
Ronald M. Cortamilia, the property’s owner, and Yulia A. Timpy, who managed the property, are also named as defendants. The lawsuit claims both men failed to decontaminate the premises and to warn the family that drug use may have occurred at the rental.
“A 19-month-old baby dies because some folks wanted to get a little bit higher than high. No, that’s not good,” attorney Thomas Scolaro said, per WPBF.
The lawsuit also alleges that Airbnb “has known for years that drug use is prevalent in their properties, including those same properties that are rented out to families with children and infants.”
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