Wrongful-death suit says Outer Sunset killing was tied to home sale

A wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Eric Bigone’s son says the 58-year-old was killed outside his 46th Avenue home in the Outer Sunset so Philippe Chagniot could sell the property without a renter inside. The complaint seeks damages and a court order freezing any sale or transfer, turning a homicide case into a fight over the value of a small San Francisco house in a neighborhood where every vacancy can carry a price tag.

Bigone was shot around 5:30 a.m. on May 17 while leaving for work, according to investigators, and the home where he lived had become a makeshift memorial of flowers, candles and an SFPUC vest left at the gate. Chagniot, 68, a retired dentist, was arrested and charged with murder, arson and weapons offenses, and he pleaded not guilty in San Francisco Superior Court. He is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 28 for preliminary-hearing scheduling.

The civil complaint says Chagniot and his wife took part in a months-long campaign of harassment before the shooting, and one account says the day after Bigone died, Chagniot’s wife asked when he would be vacating the unit. The lawsuit also frames the case as a push to clear the rental before a sale, a stark reminder that in San Francisco, housing pressure can sit just below the surface of even the most intimate landlord-tenant disputes.

That is why the case lands so hard in San Francisco’s housing law framework. The city’s Rent Ordinance covers most residential units, limits rent increases, and requires just cause for eviction; it also bans bad-faith efforts to force tenants out through intimidation, coercion or threats of physical harm. Tenants can file a wrongful-eviction report with the Rent Board, which can demand a landlord response within seven days if harassment is alleged and, in some cases, move toward a hearing. The most recent Rent Board annual report counted 1,033 eviction notices filed from March 1, 2024 through Feb. 28, 2025, showing how often housing conflicts already move through the city’s legal system even before they become something far darker.