Jury selection is set for Tuesday in a wrongful death suit involving the drowning of a 3-year-old girl in a septic tank in Argyle.
Alisandra Galvan was playing in the family backyard on the evening of Feb. 17, 2009, when she disappeared. Volunteers mounted a huge search for her in the neighborhood surrounding the 400 block of East Hickory Ridge Circle. The search ended tragically when the child was found drowned in a septic tank in the backyard.
Myla and Vance Galvan, Alisandra’s parents, lived in the house with Lisa Galvan, her grandmother. The grandmother leased the house from Terry and Inger Risenhoover, and the family had lived there less than a month.
According to records, the two women were cooking dinner that evening while Alisandra and two older relatives were playing in the large backyard. The boys saw her heading toward the house and thought she went inside.
But she didn’t make it indoors, and her mother became concerned and began a search. After 15 minutes of not finding her, she called 911 about 6:30 p.m. and a large group of volunteers began searching. They discovered that a septic tank in the backyard was missing its cover. While still searching the area, they called for a septic truck to have the tank drained. At the bottom, along with the child, they found a 10-inch green plastic lid labeled “irrigation.”
According to the Denton County website about rules and codes for septic systems, the homeowner is responsible for ensuring that the tank is in safe working order. The Galvans sued the Risenhoovers for damages in a wrongful death suit.
Jim Girards, lead attorney for the Galvan family, said Friday that he could not comment much on the suit beforehand.
“I can say that the only way these folks can get through the day is to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else,” Girards said.
Joseph Byrne, attorney for the Risenhoovers, could not immediately be reached for comment Friday afternoon.
The family has established a website for a foundation, Ali’s Sleeping Angels, for education about the dangers of septic systems. Part of any money recovered in the suit will go to the foundation.
The lawsuit has twisted and turned during the time since the child’s death, which was declared accidental by the Tarrant County medical examiner and in an investigation by Argyle police. Argyle police Capt. Temple Cottle said when he closed the investigation that the cover was too small for the opening and would have fallen into the tank when the child stepped on it.
All the homes in the affluent neighborhood are serviced by septic tanks rather than by the Argyle waste system. Each tank has three lids. Two of the openings, including the one that fell through, were in the family backyard and one was behind a fence, the captain said.
Cottle said he checked other septic tanks in the neighborhood, and the others had lids that were covered by dirt. This one was bare.
The plaintiffs allege in the suit that the Risenhoovers, the owners, modified the tank in 2005 to bring it closer to the surface. The suit alleges they were told by the backhoe operator in 2008 that the original 59-pound lid that was supposed to be locked on top of the opening had been replaced with the green plastic lid that was actually meant to cover part of a sprinkler system. The suit alleges that the owners did not want to replace the lid because of the cost and did not tell the Galvan family about the situation when they leased it in January 2009.
The suit asks for recovery of damages for the child’s suffering before her death, for the family’s suffering afterward, and for the loss of benefits for the child during what should have been her lifetime. No specific amount was designated.
The Risenhoovers, in an answer to the suit, allege that the parents were at fault for not properly supervising the little girl.
They in turn have sued the owners of the backhoe company, Rosemary Solis and Larry Gabbard. The Risenhoovers had a contract with the company to service the septic system, and they allege in their documents that Gabbard never told them about a problem with the lid. They paid the company to maintain the system, according to the suit, and the company did not ensure its safety.
The Risenhoovers also sued the grandparents, saying they signed a lease absolving the owners of any responsibility for accidents that occurred at the house.
The Risenhoovers’ documents allege that, since no one admits to knowing how the green lid came to be on the septic tank, someone unknown must have put it there without permission, making the death a criminal matter.
The trial, which is set to take place in the 393rd District Court, is expected to last about two weeks.
DONNA FIELDER can be reached at 940-566-6885. Her e-mail address is dfielder@dentonrc.com.
