A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of late Penn State student Christopher Raspanti has been met with complaints from the lawyers of three defendants, including landlord Rodney Hendricks.

According to court documents, Hendricks, Hendricks/Tabolsky Investments and Continental Real Estate Management Inc., 333 S. Allen St., have all filed preliminary objections that the lawsuit is unclear and unspecific.

Raspanti's April 24 death in a fire that was most likely caused by faulty wiring in his house at 500 E. Beaver Ave. spurred community debate about the safety of State College rental properties.

Cliff Bidlingmaier, an attorney representing Raspanti's parents, William and Kimi Raspanti, said he is working on a response to the objections and will send them to the courthouse this week. Bidlingmaier filed the original lawsuit Dec. 2, which stated Hendricks and Tabolsky knew or should have known that the house was not adequately equipped with safety devices, including escape routes. The suit accuses Hendricks and Tabolsky of failing to limit the number of tenants in the property and restricting occupancy on the third floor, where Raspanti lived.

But William Krekstein, Hendricks' lawyer, filed complaints about the Raspantis' suit, calling the allegations "vague and unsupported."

A complaint filed by Continental Real Estate Management Inc. states that the suit alleges the house had "unsafe and illegal occupancy" on the third floor but fails to identify why or how the occupancy was unsafe or illegal. The objection also says the suit fails to identify what building and fire code violations were present and what provisions for escape were inadequate.

Bidlingmaier said the lawsuit is clear and easily understandable.

"It's pretty self-explanatory -- it's normal legal stuff. The fact is that anybody can understand that," Bidlingmaier said. "The complaint is clear."

Bidlingmaier said he expected preliminary objections to the case because it is a complex one.

The Raspantis are asking for an amount in excess of $50,000 from the defendants. Bidlingmaier said the Raspantis want to effect a change so other students aren't unknowingly subject to living in unsafe conditions.

"They don't want anyone else to have to go through what they are going through," Bidlingmaier said. The attorneys of the defendants were unable to be reached by press time yesterday.