Deluxe Lounger to Blame for Fire, Suit Says

A Santa Ana couple in search of occasional relaxation lost their $600,000 home, its contents and their Lhasa apso dog Shana when their deluxe lounger burned down their house, they alleged in a lawsuit filed Thursday.

After a back and neck rub one night last January, Ephraim “Fred” Even and Vivien R. Even turned off their lounger when “electrical arcing” apparently caused the $3,685 recliner to catch fire.

The Evens sued Matsushita Electric Corp. and the Brookstone Co., whose South Coast Plaza store sold them the chair, for more than $2 million in Orange County Superior Court.

Ephraim Even said he was saddened by the loss of his dog but would not elaborate on the fire. “I have no comment,” he said.

His lawyer, Stephen L. Joseph of San Francisco, could not be reached for comment Thursday evening.

David Bennett, manager of the Brookstone store where the Evens bought their lounger, said the chain still carries that model.

“I haven’t heard of any problems like that,” he said. “Brookstone is pretty proactive when there is a problem.”

When the elaborate chair caught fire on Jan. 13, 1997, it touched off “a larger conflagration” that destroyed the house, some $787,000 in contents and “engulfed and burned to death” Shana, the lawsuit states.

The Evens were forced to flee the house, “and then they witnessed their residence and all the personal belongings being destroyed before their eyes, and the death of their dog,” according to the suit.

The fire singed the hair and eyebrows of Ephraim Even and blistered his face and hands; Vivien Even fell while rushing from the burning house, bruising her elbow, the lawsuit states.

The Evens claim they suffered permanent emotional distress, mental pain, serious shock to their nervous systems and the loss of enjoyment of life. The blaze also caused Vivien Even to suffer insomnia, anxiety, nightmares, crying episodes and grieving for Shana, according to the suit.