Family sues over parents’ death from carbon monoxide poisoning

A couple died while staying overnight at a posh oceanside home. Their children claim a Navien tankless water heater was to blame.SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (CN) — Three teenagers have sued the tankless water heater manufacturer Navien, claiming the company knew its products were potentially deadly years before their parents died of carbon monoxide poisoning while staying overnight at a posh oceanfront home.The teenaged children of John and Kristen Ruskey say their parents died when a Navien tankless water heater and exhaust venting system leaked carbon monoxide from an adjacent laundry room into the guest bedroom where they were staying. The children say the water heaters have been problematic for years, resulting in the recall of 13,000 units in 2011 and causing at least nine deaths in the United States and abroad since 2019.They seek damages on a products liability claim from Navien, Inc. and Kyung Dong Navien Co. and premises liability damages from homeowners Ben and Robin Korman, claiming they did not have a working carbon monoxide detector in the residence.The Ruskeys were considered modern agricultural pioneers, having developed crops such as caviar lime and dragon fruit and founding Frinj Coffee. On Feb. 7, 2026, they traveled to the coastal town of Cambria to attend a birthday party at the Korman residence, a 5,548-square-foot home with panoramic ocean views that Zillow estimates to be worth over $6.6 million. At the time, John, who went by Jay, was 53 years old, and Kristen was 49. Their children — a 19-year-old daughter and twin 16-year-old boys — who did not go with them.Between 50 and 60 guests attended the event, and the Kormans invited the Ruskeys to spend the night. During the evening, the water heater fired repeatedly to meet the hot water demands of a household of overnight guests and “with each firing cycle it discharged carbon monoxide through the failed subject venting system into the laundry room and, through the connecting door, into the guest bedroom," the children say in their complaint.At 4:34 a.m. Kristen called 911, saying her husband was in acute distress. Guests heard Jay Ruskey screaming, and he lost control of his bowels while in bed.“Each of these is a potential sign of acute carbon monoxide poisoning, which produces headaches, nausea and vomiting, confusion and agitation, loss of motor control, seizures, and loss of consciousness as carbon monoxide displaces oxygen from the blood,” the children say in the complaint.According to the Independent, Kristen Ruskey told the medics that John had consumed psychedelic mushrooms and was having a bad trip. While the medics suggested he go to the hospital, he declined and the couple returned to the bedroomAround 9:30 a.m., guests checked on the couple and found Kristen Ruskey lying unresponsive on the laundry room floor and Jay Ruskey in the bed, not breathing.The deaths shocked the small coastal community of Cambria, located just south of the scenic Big Sur coastline and the popular Hearst Castle tourist destination. A month after the mysterious deaths, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office announced the causes of death.“The coroner has determined John Ruskey died of toxic effects of carbon monoxide and Kristen Ruskey died of toxic effects of carbon monoxide and ethanol,” the office said. “Their deaths are ruled as accidental. A combination carbon monoxide/smoke detector was found in their room, but it was found to be disconnected.”The Ruskey children says their family spent considerable time together, camping, mountain biking, paddle boarding and holding cookouts around the pond at the family farm.“On Feb. 8, 2026, the Ruskey children’s world crumbled. They lost two committed parents and a lifetime of love, support, guidance and comfort," the say in their lawsuit.Requests for comment to Ben Korman, through his Paso Robles business Ranch WiFi, and to Navien were not returned by press time.David C. Shay of the Los Angeles firm Panish Shea Ravipudi, represents the family. In an email, the firm called the Ruskeys’ deaths preventable.“Our focus remains on establishing the facts and pursuing accountability for this family," the firm said. “As colder weather arrives and November marks Carbon Monoxide Awareness Month, the Ruskey family urges everyone to install working carbon monoxide detectors in their homes and test them regularly.”Navien water heaters have been subject to multiple recalls, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, including the 2011 notice advising owners a detached vent collar “poses a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning to the consumer.” The commission issued a similar recall notice in 2018, though the lawsuit does not specify if the Korman water heater was subject to recall.In 2020, parents and their two children died in their home due to carbon monoxide poisoning caused in part by a poorly designed Navien water heater exhaust pipe, their loved ones claimed in a lawsuit. And just five days before the Ruskeys died, a federal lawsuit was filed following the deaths of three women from carbon monoxide poisoning while vacationing at a resort in Belize. According to that suit, a gas-powered Navien water heater vented lethal concentrations of carbon monoxide into the suite.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads