ELLSWORTH — A civil lawsuit has been filed against the company family members blame for the deaths of four people in an October home explosion.

According to a Wednesday filing in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, the families of Jeff and JoAnn Kocanyar and Adam and Julie Lubic have sued Window World of Youngstown for wrongful death, citing negligence, and seek more than $200,000 in damages. Judge Maureen Sweeney will hear the case.

In January, the State Fire Marshal’s Office ruled the cause of the Oct. 5 explosion on Huxley Road “undetermined,” but said a propane leak was the “most probable cause.”

The lawsuit states that “the catastrophic explosion of the Kocanyar home and the untimely deaths of the … [d]ecedents were a direct and proximate result of the negligence, recklessness, carelessness, malfeasance, and nonfeasance” of the work crew while they were replacing siding on the home at the house on Oct. 4.

The fire marshal’s report showed that Jeff Kocanyar had to go to a hardware store to buy parts to fix a water line after the work crew damaged it and caused flooding in the basement. The lawsuit alleges that the work crew also damaged the propane line running into the home from an external tank.

The lawsuit specifically accuses Window World of:

•Failing to exercise reasonable and proper care.

•Causing damage to the propane gas line at the Kocanyar home.

•Causing and / or allowing propane gas to escape into the Kocanyar home.

•Failing to identify and / or remedy the propane gas leak and / or damage to the propane gas line.

•Failing to conduct an adequate and proper inspection of the property prior to starting work on the Kocanyar home, including but not limited to locating and marking all propane gas lines on the property.

•Failing to disconnect and shut off all propane gas lines prior to performing work.

•Failing to properly train and monitor employees in working around propane gas lines.

•Failing to ensure employees were following all company policies and procedures related to working around propane gas lines.

•Failure to maintain such proper guidance and policies and procedures.

The lawsuit seeks $25,000 in punitive damages and $25,000 in compensatory damages for each of the victims, or $50,000 each, for a total of $200,000, as well as interest, costs, attorney fees and other relief as the court “deems just and equitable.”

The lawsuit is brought by Jill Kocanyar, Nicholas Laudato, and Rory and Stuart Lubic, respectively the estate administrators for Julie Kocanyar Lubic, Jeff and JoAnn Kocanyar, and Adam Lubic. Jeff and JoAnn were 69 and 67, respectively, and Adam and Julie both were 33. The Lubics were in town from Chicago to celebrate their first wedding anniversary and visit Julie’s parents.

The fire marshal’s report states that all but Adam were pronounced dead at the scene, and he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.

The explosion happened at 7:19 a.m. on Oct. 5, the day after the work crew was at the house.

The report states that the propane line entered the home at the northeast corner. The conclusion section of the fire marshal’s report states that firefighters reported seeing fire coming from the copper tubing in the northeast corner of the basement. The tubing was “from the 500-gallon propane tank,” it stated. That corner of the house is also where fire crews saw flames when they first arrived at the scene. Fire crews found the propane regulator in the debris on the east side of the home.

The report states that the Window World crews worked primarily on the north side of the home, where they used pump-jack scaffolding. One of the jacks was installed at the northeast corner where the propane line enters the home.

The company that supplied the home with propane told officials the tank was last filled on March 18, 2024.

The home was built in 1989. The report states that its “entire roof system and exterior walls collapsed and / or were blown outward in all directions.”

The blast broke out windows on nearby homes and was heard and felt several miles away.