BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The mother of five children killed in a fire at a home on Dartmouth Avenue in Buffalo on New Year's Eve in 2022 has filed a lawsuit against the owners of the home.
The suit, filed in Erie County State Supreme Court on Monday, alleges that the fire was the result of "fault, negligence and carelessness of the defendants," who are identified as Fazlul Chowdhury of Niagara Falls and Razia Chowdhury of Jamaica, N.Y. The suit also identifies John Doe 1-John Doe 5 who are not currently known but may become known during the case.
Kenise Robinson's five children: Aniyah Green, 10, Joelle Liggans, 8, Jalissa Liggans, 7, Denise Keith, 4, and Nehemiah Robinson, 2, all died in the fire.
The children's grandmother, 63-year-old Lisa Liggans, died in March 2023 from injuries suffered in the fire. She had carried a 7-month-old out of the home, who was later released from ECMC a few days later. The children had been in the care of their grandparents.
The suit alleges that the children were unable to escape the home during the fire, which started in the dining room area. It says that the children "were caused to endure severe and life ending injuries, physical pain, suffering and mental anguish, fear of impending death, and loss of enjoyment from life from the time of the ignition of the house fire until the time of their deaths."
Robinson is seeking "an amount which exceeds the jurisdictional limits of all lowers courts which otherwise have jurisdiction."
Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.
