The father of Stacey MacDonald has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the man who owned the Waterville home where the 33-year-old Clinton woman died nearly a year ago. She accidentally fell from the second story because a balcony hadn’t been built outside a sliding glass door.

The lawsuit, filed in Kennebec County Superior Court by Willey Law Offices of Bangor on behalf of Frederick MacDonald, alleges that Robert Grenier was reckless and negligent because he “failed to block the sliding doors, warn that there was no balcony off the second-floor sliding doors, or the other reasonable actions to prevent Stacey Lynn MacDonald from opening the sliding doors and walking outside.”

Phone messages left Friday at Willey Law Offices were not returned.

A response to the lawsuit has not been filed in court yet. Reached by phone Friday, Grenier declined to comment but said Liberty Mutual insurance would be representing him in the civil case.

MacDonald graduated from Madison Area Memorial High School and was a “dedicated, hard worker as well as a jack of all trades” who enjoyed hunting, fishing and riding horses, according to her obituary. She had a son, Carter Chase, according to her obituary.

MacDonald had been at Grenier’s house at 160 Drummond Ave. for a Christmas party and had been drinking alcohol, according to the lawsuit. The house was being renovated at the time and the second-story balcony outside the sliding doors hadn’t been built yet.

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MacDonald, sleeping in a second-story bedroom, woke up during the night and stepped out the door, falling to the ground. Police at the time said her body was found Saturday afternoon, the day after Christmas, on a cement patio behind the house.

The cause of her death was determined to be blunt force injuries of head and chest resulting from a fall from height, and was ruled accidental, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

MacDonald’s death was at least the second dangerous incident to occur at 160 Drummond Ave. around Christmas. On Christmas Day in 2013, fire destroyed a large barn and attached buildings on the property and heavily damaged the house.

The lawsuit, filed Nov. 17, also alleges that Grenier’s in-progress house renovations violated city building codes and lacked a necessary permit. In addition, the lawsuit claims Grenier “owed a special duty of care” to MacDonald as an overnight guest because she had been drinking alcohol at the Christmas party.

The lawsuit seeks punitive damages, citing emotional distress, the loss of income, medical costs and funeral-related costs.


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