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A fire extinguishers salesman who was put on administrative leave following an investigation into the death of his daughter after she died in a fire has filed a lawsuit, claiming that he was fired because of his political views.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday in San Diego Superior Court in San Francisco seeks to overturn the San Diego County District Attorney’s decision to drop the criminal case against the woman, whose name is protected under the California Public Records Act.
In the lawsuit, James McAlpine, 61, says his daughter, Michelle McAlpin, was killed in a 2015 fire that consumed part of a condominium in the city’s Marina district, the same day she was scheduled to have a birth.
The suit says McAlpenys death was a result of the negligence of the San Jose Fire Department, which had not adequately investigated and determined the cause of the fire, according to a San Jose Mercury News report.
In April, the woman’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of San Jose and the Fire Department for their role in the death.
The district attorney’s decision on whether to file criminal charges was based on an analysis of the medical examiner’s report, according the lawsuit.
A city spokeswoman said in a statement that the district attorney has not been notified of the lawsuit and that the office would defend itself in court.
The San Jose Police Department declined to comment.
A police statement said in part: “The San Francisco Fire Department takes its responsibility to ensure public safety very seriously and we are reviewing the lawsuit filed against us by our friend and former colleague James McPherson.
We have not received the lawsuit from James McArthur.”
The city of St. Paul has not released the name of the person who died in the fire.
McAlpine said he would not be pursuing a civil case against St. Louis-based Fireman Joe Browning.
Browning has since been hired by the city as the city attorney.
The McAlpes are seeking unspecified damages, attorney fees and attorney’s fees and are asking that Browning be allowed to represent the family.
The city has also hired an outside law firm to review the case, the lawsuit says.
The case against McAlpases former employer has also been investigated by the California Department of Public Health and the California Civilian Complaint Review Board.
