Outer Sunset landlord Philippe Chagniot is accused in a new lawsuit of killing his tenant Eric Bigone to boost the sale of the property, and Chagniot’s wife allegedly asked Bigone’s son the day after his father’s death when he would be vacating the unit.
The presumed motive of Philippe Chagniot, who was arrested last month and charged with murder in the May 17 killing of his 58-year-old tenant Eric Bigone, was not shared with the public after his arrest. But now we know a little more, as he is now accused in a newly filed wrongful death lawsuit of carrying out the killing to increase the value of his Outer Sunset property and facilitate its sale. As Mission Local reports, the lawsuit, filed June 9 by Bigone's son Dino, seeks damages from Chagniot and his wife Barbara, as well as a court order preventing the sale of the home.
As SFist reported last month, Bigone was fatally shot outside his 46th Avenue home in the early hours of May 17 by a masked figure on a bicycle carrying a long gun. The SFPD later arrested 68-year-old Chagniot.
Prosecutors allege that on May 17, the suspect set fire to Bigone's car around 5 a.m. before fatally shooting him when he came outside to investigate, per Mission Local. Investigators later traced the cyclist's route using surveillance footage and Flock cameras, leading them to Chagniot's Ingleside residence. Police said they recovered a MAC-10 submachine gun, a silencer, and a high-capacity magazine. Chagniot has pleaded not guilty.
According to ABC 7, the lawsuit claims that Bigone had rented the property since 2023 and paid $3,200 per month in cash. The complaint alleges the Chagniots required rent payments to be made in cash and kept those payments off the books to avoid reporting the income on their taxes. After Bigone refused to leave, the suit claims, the couple began a campaign of harassment that included repeated threats of eviction, improper notices to enter the unit, refusing to accept rent payments, and falsely claiming they planned to pursue an Ellis Act eviction.
The lawsuit further alleges that Barbara Chagniot contacted Dino, Bigone's son, the day after the killing to offer condolences and ask when the family would be vacating the property.
"It's extraordinarily callous. It reminds me of The Sopranos. Show up at funerals and offer condolences. Very sordid," said Steve MacDonald, an attorney with decades-long experience in landlord-tenant law, speaking to ABC 7.
"The situation prior to this terrible crime was a mundane one,” MacDonald said. “A landlord wants to sell the property, possibly desperate to sell the tenant out, needs the tenant out.”
Attorneys for Bigone's estate argue the landlords stood to benefit financially from selling the home without a tenant, though those allegations have not been proven in court. MacDonald speculated the property could be worth roughly $200,000 more if sold vacant.
Chagniot is scheduled to return to court August 28, when a preliminary hearing date is expected to be set.
Previously: Landlord Arrested In Connection With Outer Sunset Homicide of Well Known Neighborhood Figure
Image: Eric Bigone, right, with his son.
