Family Files Negligence Lawsuit Against Crown Windows

A closed court case involving the death of a three-year-old child has come back with a new angle and Crown Window, a Missouri-based supplier and installer of windows, finds itself back in the hot-seat. The family of the late Tidus Bass, once again, are alleging that “Crown Window sold and distributed the Crystal Series 2300 Horizontal Sliding Windows without fall protection features or warnings regarding the risk of falls, and were equipped with cam-action sweep locks as their only securing mechanism—a component prone to failure.”

First Round Fight

According to the original case documents, in July 2024, three-year-old Tidus Bass “and his brother A.B. awoke early in their bedroom, which had no air conditioning.” As [DWM] reported at the time, Tidus’ parents say he “was able to easily open the window of his bedroom … because it lacked adequate locking mechanisms and other safety features to prevent him from doing so” and fell nine stories, ultimately resulting in his death. His parents, Destiny Randle and Moses Bass, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in April 2025, naming 728 N. Jennings Rd. Partners LLC, FTW Investments LLC, Tango Property Management LLC, and PR Independence LLC, as defendants, all of which are connected to the ownership and management of the apartment building, as well as Crown Diversified Industries Corp., D/B/A Crown Window Corp., and Crystal Window & Door Systems for the windows and installation thereof.

In the lawsuit, filed in Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri, at Independence, Randle and Bass claimed that even before they moved in, “the high-rise windows in the master bedroom lacked screens entirely, and the exterior window screen in the second bedroom was torn.” At that time, they also argued that the involved window “lacked basic safety features, the apartment building suffered from systemic neglect, and management repeatedly ignored complaints of deplorable living conditions in the building.” Defendants 728 N Jennings Rd. and FTW, “refused to allocate resources to maintain the property in a safe and habitable condition, causing severe deterioration,” they allege.

In the immediate aftermath of Tidus’ death, parents Randle and Bass were indicted by a Jackson County grand jury, each for “first-degree child endangerment resulting in death.” Both ultimately pleaded guilty and received five years’ probation, each, but the couple pointed to their living situation as factors in their son’s death.

In case filing from April 2025, Randle and Bass sought to hold the property management company responsible for what they alleged to be the deteriorating state of the apartments, and the window manufacturer (Crystal) and window installation company (Crown) for defective product and improper installation, respectively.

However, just a few months later, at the end of June 2025, representation for Randle and Bass filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal without Prejudice, closing the lawsuit.

Round Two

That seemed to be the end of it, until, in late January 2026, the couple filed a lawsuit solely against Crown Diversified Industries Corp., D/B/A Crown Window Corp., claiming that the bedroom window, which was installed by Crown Window Corp. in 2015, “lacked basic fall-protection safety features that would have prevented a child from falling from such a height” and that “these safety measures were well known in the window industry and simple to implement.”

They further argue that “Crown Window sold and distributed the Crystal Series 2300 Horizontal Sliding Windows without fall protection features or warnings regarding the risk of falls, and were equipped with cam-action sweep locks as their only securing mechanism—a component prone to failure.” The couple alleges that the company installed multiple windows in the apartment building, all lacking safety or fall-protection devices and that the company “knew or should have known that the absence of required fall-protection devices on the windows at Independence Towers … violated Section 1015.8 of the 2015 International Building Code.” Crown Window Corp. “failed to warn property owners, property managers, tenants and occupants that the Independence Towers Windows lacked … required fall-protection devices and posed a serious risk of falls, severe injury, and death, particularly to children,” the couple alleges. They are alleging negligence and negligence per se, as well as a product liability claim, stating that “At the time the product left Defendant Crown Window’s control, and at all times thereafter, the … Window was in a defective and unreasonably dangerous condition when put to reasonably anticipated use.” They also argue that the window “was defective and unreasonably dangerous and/or Defendant Crown Window was negligent in distributing, supplying, and installing the product.”

This version of the lawsuit does not name Crystal Windows and Doors, nor any of the building owners or managers. Randle and Bass are asking for a jury trial.