One day after Eric Bigone was shot and killed outside his Sunset District rental home, a wrongful death lawsuit now alleges, the accused gunman's wife called Bigone's son to offer condolences — and to ask when the property would be vacated.

A civil complaint filed Tuesday in San Francisco Superior Court accuses Phillipe and Barbara Chagniot of conspiring to murder their tenant so they could sell a Sunset District single-family home free of a renter. The suit adds significant new allegations beyond what emerged in the criminal case: that the couple demanded cash rent to hide income from taxes, that both spouses reached out to the victim's son within days of the killing, and that an injunction should freeze several properties the Chagniots hold to prevent them from shielding assets against a potential judgment.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Dino Bigone by attorneys Paul Alaga and Ian Kelley of San Francisco's Bryant Law Group, builds on criminal charges already pending against Phillipe Chagniot — who has pleaded not guilty to murder, arson, and weapons offenses stemming from the May 17 killing. The Dissent reported on those charges when Chagniot entered his plea in late May. The civil action, however, names Barbara Chagniot and the couple's family trust as additional defendants and introduces details that did not appear in the criminal proceedings.

Most striking is what the complaint says happened in the immediate aftermath of the killing. According to the suit, Barbara Chagniot called Dino Bigone the day after his father's death to offer condolences — and to ask when he would vacate the home. Phillipe Chagniot separately sent Dino a text message of sympathy, the complaint alleges. Within days, according to the filing, the defendants' attorney had moved to take possession of the property at 2518 47th Ave.

The lawsuit also introduces an allegation that did not surface in the criminal case: that the Chagniots required Eric Bigone to pay his $3,200 monthly rent entirely in cash, ostensibly to avoid reporting the income on their taxes. Bigone had rented the Sunset home since 2023 and always paid in cash as the landlords demanded, the suit says.

According to the complaint, the effort to remove Bigone began in January 2026. Phillipe Chagniot allegedly sent improper notices to enter the property, threatened eviction, refused to accept rent payments, and falsely claimed he would invoke the Ellis Act — the state law that permits landlords to remove properties from the rental market entirely. Bigone was forced to retain an attorney merely to get his rent accepted. When the harassment campaign failed to dislodge him, the lawsuit alleges, the couple conspired to kill him.

The killing, as the complaint describes it, was methodical. At around 5 a.m. on May 17, Phillipe Chagniot allegedly dressed in dark clothing and a mask, rode a bicycle to the home, spray-painted nearby security cameras, and set fire to Bigone's car. When Bigone came outside to put out the blaze, Chagniot allegedly shot him in the back of the head with a silenced MAC-10 submachine gun, then stood over him and fired again. Bigone was pronounced dead at the scene. Chagniot, 68, was arrested May 27 and is being held without bail, according to the San Francisco Standard, which first reported on the civil lawsuit.

The civil complaint raises 10 causes of action, including wrongful death, battery, and violations of the San Francisco Rent Ordinance, which prohibits landlords from harassing tenants in bad faith. The lawsuit also seeks an injunction blocking the Chagniots from transferring several properties they own in San Francisco and elsewhere, arguing those transfers could be structured to insulate assets from any eventual judgment.

The allegations in the civil complaint have not been proven in court. The Chagniots have not yet responded to the lawsuit. Efforts to reach them and their attorney were unsuccessful, according to the Standard.