Vallejo’s La Tapatia Market sued over carbon monoxide deaths

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VALLEJO – Workers from La Tapatia Market in Vallejo are suing the owners for negligence and labor violations, alleging that two employees died from exposure to carbon monoxide while inside the store.

The complaint, filed Oct. 30 in Napa County Superior Court, accuses owners Ismael and Ignacio Magallanes of ignoring carbon monoxide issues and not investigating when employees reported feeling dizzy or faint while in the store’s mezzanine area, where the employee-only bathroom was located. The lawsuit states that this negligence later led to the deaths of two people. 

The complaint also includes allegations that the owners were paying some of the employees in cash and failed to offer tax documents, health benefits, or overtime pay. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat first reported the lawsuit.

Alongside Ismael and Ignacio Magallanes, the lawsuit also names Ismael Magallanes’ late wife Adelaida and his son Julian — who worked as a supervisor at the Vallejo store — as defendants. Several unnamed supervisors are also included. 

The workers who are suing the owners are all from one multigenerational family. The various plaintiffs all started working at La Tapatia Market’s Vallejo location between 2019 to 2022. One plaintiff also worked at La Tapatia’s other location in Napa. Their ages at the time of the incidents ranged from 16 to 72 years old. 

Reached by phone, one of the market’s owners declined to confirm his name and denied the allegations. He referred further questions to Vallejo law firm Favaro, Lavezzo, Gill, Caretti & Heppell, which did not immediately return a phone call.

A history of improper permits

Ismael and Adelaida Magallanes purchased the lot at 601 Broadway St. in 1993 to build out La Tapatia Market. The lawsuit alleges that the Magallanes did not obtain the proper permits for construction and hired “incompetent, unlicensed contractors” who worked on the walls, venting, HVAC, water heaters, and broiler systems.

From the start, the “building was not designed, constructed, built, maintained, or repaired properly,” leading to conditions where carbon monoxide began to build up in the areas where people worked and took their breaks, the lawsuit alleges. 

The workers alleged in the complaint that the owners cut corners in the construction process to “save money and time.” 

The complaint states that the owners showed “extreme indifference” to potential carbon monoxide dangers and did not properly ventilate the gas-heated water heater, nor did they get proper hood installation for the kitchen appliances like the charcoal grills, broilers, and fryers — all possible sources of carbon monoxide leakage. 

The lawsuit also alleges that the owners failed to install any carbon monoxide alarms on the premises, so they were unaware that gas was accumulating in the building’s mezzanine area near the employee bathroom. 

Carbon monoxide is a tasteless and odorless gas, but inhaling it can cause headaches, dizziness, loss of consciousness, and in later stages, brain damage and death. 

City records show that the owners were issued a permit for a new grocery store in January 1995, and the permit was finalized in June 1996, meaning that the building passed inspection and the city approved it. But that permit expired in June 1997, and city records do not indicate if it was renewed. 

In 2010, a permit application was submitted to install a hood ventilation system at La Tapatia, but it was withdrawn by the contractor that submitted it, called L & U Construction. According to the fees page on the city website, the construction company paid for roughly half of the mechanical permit costs before withdrawing, leaving an unpaid balance of $309. The company did not answer the phone number on file. 

The owners applied for a permit for a full replacement of a hood and duct system in 2018. Records do not show if that permit was ever approved or issued. 

In August 2024, the owners applied for an enclosed water heater closet, but there are no records that a permit was ever issued or that the water heater passed final inspection. 

Workers begin feeling sick 

Around 2023, the lawsuit says that employees began to experience carbon monoxide illness symptoms, such as feeling nauseous and experiencing fainting spells, while near the employee bathrooms, which is located by the gas water heater. The lawsuit alleges that management was made aware of these complaints — and even witnessed the symptoms themselves — but took no action to determine what was causing it. 

This led to a series of worker-related incidents within a four-month span. 

On Oct. 31, 2023, Brisamar Ramirez Rodriguez — one of the plaintiffs in the case — was upstairs on the second mezzanine level when she began to feel dizzy and lose consciousness. She was taken to the emergency room. Supervisor Julian Magallanes was with her at the time, but the lawsuit states that he did not investigate why she fell sick. Ramirez Rodriguez said that she has never been offered workers compensation for the episode.

That night, another worker named Moises Martinez died after inhaling carbon monoxide. He had been sleeping in the mezzanine area, where the owners allowed him to live after hours. 

The Solano County Coroner’s Office confirmed that Martinez’s death was a result of acute carbon monoxide intoxication. The report states that Martinez mentioned not feeling well days before his death. A coworker stated that they last saw him at 6 p.m., with Martinez saying that he wasn’t feeling well, but that he would be OK if he just sat down in a chair. That same coworker returned at 6 a.m. the next morning and found Martinez lying on the floor next to the chair he had sat in the night before. He was pronounced dead at 7:05 a.m. on Nov. 1, 2023.

Three days later, then 16-year-old Oscar Contreras Garcia went to use the bathroom in the mezzanine level and didn’t return for 30 minutes. When his father, Oscar Antonio Contreras Murguia, went to check on him, he found his son unconscious and slumped against the wall of the bathroom, the lawsuit alleges. Contreras Garcia was taken to the emergency room. After this event, the lawsuit alleges that the owners again did not perform any investigation into why the employee fainted.

Then on Feb. 22, 2024, 72-year-old Raul Contreras Cervantes was six hours into his shift as a butcher at La Tapatia when he went upstairs to use the mezzanine bathroom around 7:45 p.m. He was found unconscious on the floor 25 minutes later by a supervisor. Paramedics tried to revive him but were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:49 p.m. 

According to the death investigation report, Vallejo police Officer Valeria Banda was dispatched to the scene and fell unconscious some time between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. while waiting for the coroner to arrive. She was taken to the emergency room.

When another police officer arrived at the scene, he was told by Vallejo fire personnel and PG&E workers that high levels of carbon monoxide had been detected in the store, so the premises had been evacuated and the gas turned off. The building was deemed safe to enter at 11:45 p.m.

The coroner’s toxicology report confirmed that Contreras Cervantes died of acute carbon monoxide intoxication. Normal levels of carbon monoxide in the body are around 2-3% for non-smokers and around 5% for smokers, but Contreras Cervantes had over 63% in his body. 

Raul Contreras Cervantes was the father of Oscar Antonio Contreras Murguia and the grandfather of Oscar Contreras Garcia. Contreras Cervantes’ estate, along with his son and grandson, are all plaintiffs in the case. 

State inspection shows serious violations

According to a Cal/OSHA report, an inspector arrived at La Tapatia Market a day after Contreras Cervantes’ death. A call to PG&E confirmed that the carbon monoxide levels around the water heater were at unacceptable levels, so a La Tapatia supervisor hired a plumber to look at the water heater. The plumber found that the combustion exhaust ducting was worn and corroded, which allowed gases to leak into the business. 

The report states that the plumber repaired the unit on Feb. 26, 2024, and PG&E confirmed it was working properly before it was turned back on. 

The state investigator found the business had a total of six violations, four of which were categorized as “serious.” As a result, La Tapatia Market was fined a penalty of $56,000 in August 2024. 

All of the citations were contested in September 2024. The Cal/OSHA investigation remains open. 

The complaint also alleges numerous labor violations. It claims that some employees were paid “under the table” and did not receive any formal documentation to show their employment. The plaintiffs also allege that they were not paid for overtime work, and were sometimes barred from taking work breaks. 

The plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages. The Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver law firm, which represents the workers, declined to comment but confirmed that as of Thursday La Tapatia had not filed a response to the lawsuit.