An investigator sifts through the ashes of The Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., on Saturday. It burned down Feb. 20, killing 97.
(Robert E. Klein/The Associated Press)
Posted on 03/02/2003 9:12:27 AM PST by RobFromGa
Those Suing Over Nightclub Fire May Not Find Any Deep Pockets
An investigator sifts through the ashes of The Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., on Saturday. It burned down Feb. 20, killing 97. (Robert E. Klein/The Associated Press) |
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- As families of the dead and injured struggle with their grief after one of the country's deadliest fires, some are starting to look for compensation. Lawyers say it won't come easily.
Rhode Island lawyers estimate at least $1 billion worth of lawsuit claims will be filed in the coming months. But they're not as confident that the pockets of those who may be responsible are deep enough to pay.
"The reality is that, at the end of the day, there's going to be a lot of tears," said Ronald Resmini, a Providence lawyer representing two of the dozens of people injured when fire swept through The Station nightclub Feb. 20. "Probably more tears than money."
Warwick attorney John Lynch, representing other survivors and families of some of the 97 people killed in the blaze, said it would take several months to get any civil cases ready.
In the meantime, the state's criminal investigation is under way.
No charges had been filed as of Saturday, but a grand jury is investigating the blaze that started moments after the '80s rock band Great White began playing. Pyrotechnics set soundproofing material surrounding the stage on fire, and the flames and smoke quickly spread. Fire officials said the building was engulfed within three minutes.
"The most culpable people seem to be the owners of the bar and the band," said attorney Mark Decof, also representing victims. "But it would appear there is wholly inadequate coverage there. So you have to look elsewhere -- starting with the products involved, the people who supplied them, the people who prepared them and maintained them."
Civil lawyers could go after the manufacturers of the pyrotechnics or the soundproofing material that it ignited. Concert promoters, even the architects of the building -- constructed in the early 1940s -- are potential defendants, Decof said.
After a fire in 1977 swept through the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Ky., killing 165 people, General Electric paid $10 million to settle claims that it made faulty wiring in the building, though it never admitted liability. Insurance and settlements with companies involved in the building's operation and construction paid out about $50 million.
Attorneys for the Rhode Island club have said the owners were never told the band would be shooting off pyrotechnics; the band's attorneys have said the club gave them permission.
Lawyers for several victims said they also would consider suing the town of West Warwick, where the club was located.
They could make a case that fire officials did not properly inspect the club and that police failed to provide appropriate crowd control. However, getting money from the government could be difficult.
West Warwick's insurance is covered by the Rhode Island Interlocal Risk Management Trust, a risk pool created by the state's municipalities.
Tom Dwyer, president and executive director of the trust, said West Warwick's coverage allows for a maximum of $4 million to be paid in the case of a single incident. That $4 million would have to be split among all eligible claimants, he said.
Under state law, towns are immune from lawsuits unless a lawyer can prove they are responsible for extraordinary wrongdoing.
AMEN. (And that's what this thread is about.)
Yes it is. I started this thread and stated: "If the people responsible don't have money, then find rich people who are peripherally involved and make them responsible."
It is about Lawyers who go after the "deep pockets" even though they are not responsible. These kind of lawyers disgust me. Loser should pay on frivolous lawsuits. And frivolous should be applied reasonably.
The person bringing the action should have to think twice before bringing the suit.
But if others have different takes on the situation, those are welcome as well. Just who is liable is a relevant conversation. I think both the and and the club management are to blame, what percentage of each needs to be determined.
But these two are the only possible defendants, IMO. No foam companies, or sprinkler companies, or record labels...
Uh no, DOAIJV. Here is a passage from my reply #54 of this thread.
I beleive that the club and the band were not maliciously looking to kill 98 people that night. A series of acts, by all parties, hit each other head on that tragic night.
But you go right ahead with your crusade trying to make the band out to be as pure as the wind driven snow.
Precedents are hell, ain't they, Rob? Go to a night club, collect 1.5 mil (for your survivors)?
I think not.
That "foam" thing again, huh? Obviously NASA's fault. They can sue NASA.
Wait a sec, I drove through West warwick not long ago and failed to inspect the Club or warn the patrons, do you think they'll come after me? All I have is lint in my pockets.
Club owner, neighbor trade blame over flammable foam; another victim dies By Michael Weissenstein, Associated Press, 3/2/03
WEST WARWICK, R.I. -- An owner of The Station traded blame with a neighbor Saturday over the installation of cheap, flammable foam at the center of the investigation into one of the nation's deadliest fires.
Meanwhile, another victim, Kelly Viera, died at Shriners Hospitals Saturday of burns suffered in the Feb. 20 blaze, bringing the death toll to 98.
The attorney for club co-owner Michael Derderian said that Barry Warner, a foam salesman living next door to the venue, approached her client to sell soundproofing foam that could help them put an end to neighborhood noise complaints.
The club ended up with highly flammable packing foam, Warner, the company he worked for, and the attorney for Michael Derderian agree. Experts say the material burns like gasoline, emits a dense, toxic smoke and isn't suitable for use as acoustic insulation.
"Barry represented that this is the foam that you use to soundproof a club," attorney Kathleen Hagerty said of the June 2000 discussion. "They relied on him. He was the expert."
Warner refuted that account in an interview Saturday. He said that Michael Derderian and his brother and co-owner, Jeffrey, approached him soon after buying The Station in early 2000 to discuss his long-standing concerns about noise.
When they learned he worked for Johnston-based American Foam Corp., Warner said, they aggressively sought to purchase material for soundproofing.
The Derderians wanted the cheapest option, he said, and safety was never discussed.
"The issue never came up," Warner said. "More expensive options, he wasn't interested."
He did not say which brother seemed uninterested in pricier choices, describing the conversations about the foam as taking place with the Derderians jointly and separately over several weeks.
They will now - damned if AEMILIUS PAULUS and myself are going to bear the brunt of this alone. If we're getting sued, you're gonna get sued too.
Holy S! That's the last time I drive through Rhode Island!
Why not? The precedent has been set.
Oh wait, you've got to be involved in a big disaster to qualify.
Sorry.
;^)
Oh, and the gun distributors, put them on the liability list too. They are enablers of death wherever they ply their wares.
The gun shops. The gun shops. Don't forget them, either. They make tons of money off people suffering. They don't care for the children of the victims. They sell death by the dozen anyway!
See? It's easy to be a slimy legal-liability lawyer!
They say the salesman is the one who's guilty, because HE approached THEM. Bullshit. The 'noise complaints' did NOT lodge against NOR fall on the salesman to 'solve'.
These owners had a business where THEY were RESPONSIBLE for the safety and well-being of a HUGE AMOUNT of people. They took on the 'responsibility/obligations' of becoming 'experts' in the care of those who were entrusted to their 'oversight'. Like a parent, they had the duty to do what was best, even IF it cost them a few extra $$$ and if it was something they 'didn't feel like doing'.
The owners are wriggling on the hook they themselves created by 'cutting corners'. They have cut corners and cut lives. (98 of them.)
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