Todd v. Smith

The plaintiff, Rodney Todd, brought this action seeking recovery for the death of his minor daughter in a house fire. His complaint alleged that Herbert Cook (landlord) had a statutory duty to install smoke detectors and that the landlord’s failure to do so proximately caused his daughter’s death. The circuit court of La Salle County found the landlord had no statutory duties at the time of the fire. The plaintiff appeals. We affirm the decision of the trial court.

Prior to March 27, 1988, Todd lived with his family as tenants in the landlord’s private residence near Earlville in La Salle…