Those Suing Over Nightclub Fire May Not Find Any Deep Pockets

Salt Lake Tribune | March 2, 2003 | AP

[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.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Here is a passage from my reply #54 of this thread.

Uh huh. And here is something else you said:

The band had used the pyrotechnics without permission in four clubs in four states.

I am telling you that just because a club owner or even several club owners make a claim, that claim is not necessarily true. The management of Great White says they secured permission to use pyrotechnics. You have chosen the party you believe - I'm not so quick to take the word of a club owner, particularly one who probably realized what material was burning as soon as he saw it happen.

You also said:

Also the person who set up and ignited the pyrotechnics(the band manager) was unlicensed, didn't apply for a permit, and didn't have the sense to have a fire extinguisher handy in the case something went wrong.

But you want to go after Jack Russell, because, gee whiz, he is "Great White".

Maybe one day, someone you hire or have a professional relationship with will make a mistake or bump up against an idiot who created an unsafe situation, and you'll be considered responsible.

Then maybe you'll get it.

What do you think of the lawyers going after the foam manufacturers, Dane? I know you don't seem to want to talk about it, but what the hell - I'll ask again.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

A lot of they said/they said, he said/he said stuff in this case. I don't know how they're going to prove any of it. I really don't.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Nothing would surprise me at this point.

Someone I know of sued an appliance company when the homeowner punctured a gas line leading into their home and everyone in it blew up. They ended up getting paid off. I still have no idea what the appliance had to do with anything, except that it's a large, successful, well-known company.

[meyer]

I agree with you, they will probably go after the foam people. This is so WRONG, as the people who bought the foam and used it as wall-proofing are much more culpable in my mind. It is part of the shifting of responsibility that is so prevalent today.

I agree as well - the line of causation has been stretched way beyond what is proper. And sadly, there is at least one freeper that seemed to be licking his chops while discussing this event. I'll not name him, but he often speaks of doctors in a caustic manner, while simultaneously raising lawyers to the level of saviors of our society. /end rant.

[mommadooo3]

I know.

It means nothing, but I've always found that the one who squeals the loudest is usually the guiltiest. And so far, the ones who're squealing 'you're guilty, not ME', are the club owners.

[Polybius]

I have found a "deep pocket" for the Chicago nightclub tragedy.

In Chicago, Jesse Jackson on the Spot:Some are questioning his ties to the club where 21 were killed

[Dane]

Maybe one day, someone you hire or have a professional relationship with will make a mistake or bump up against an idiot who created an unsafe situation, and you'll be considered responsible.

Actually the band should be consdidered as part of the idiocy. They could have said no to the use of pyrotechnics, but they didn't instead they let an unlicensed pyrotechnician represent them.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Are pyrotechnicians legally required to be licensed? If not, why not? In Rhode Island, is it the club or the pyrotechnician who is required to secure a permit for their use?

So, Dane, what do you think about lawyers going after foam manufacturers?

[Dane]

So, Dane, what do you think about lawyers going after foam manufacturers?

They shouldn't and their suits against them should be thrown out. There is a probably a 99.9% chance that the foam manufactuerer had a warning that the stuff is flammable. They can't help it if the club was stupid enough to put it up and that the band was stupid enough to ignite it.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Do you have answers to my other questions?

[Xenalyte]

One last question, would you have set off the pyrotechnics as seen by the WPRI footage inside your house?

The sparklers? Sure. But then, I don't have packing foam on my walls, and my house was built sometime after I was born.

[Dane]

Are pyrotechnicians legally required to be licensed? If not, why not? In Rhode Island, is it the club or the pyrotechnician who is required to secure a permit for their use?

I beleive that they have to be licensed and have no idea if the club or the ban'd pyrotechnician has to get the permit.

I am just using common sense. Would I let the 26 year old pyrotechnician under the employ of Great White, who set up the pyrotechnics on that tragic night set it up and ignite them in my living room.

My answer would be a resounding no.

[Dane]

The sparklers?

They wern't "sparklers" kids wave around on the 4th of July, they were more like roman candles and sparklers that we normally see times 100.

Anyway I wouldn't let the regular variety "sparklers" to be lit in my house, either.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Why do you keep talking about people's homes? This is not about a home. This is about a performance stage, where heat is ALWAYS an issue, pyrotechnics or no pyrotechnics.

You "believe" pyrotechnicians have to be licensed but you really don't know. You also don't know if the club or the pyrotechnician is required to get the permit. You're revealing that there are things about this situation you have assumed, just like you've assumed that the club owners are telling the truth and that the band is lying. That's what I'm trying to get you to stop doing.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

I heard a report that you can put your hand - without burning it - in the sparkling pyrotechnics that were used at The Station.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

But then, I don't have packing foam on my walls, and my house was built sometime after I was born.

: ) (I don't have packing foam glued to my walls, either. I think I'll go out, get some, and glue it all around my kitchen, on my cooking island where my gas cooktop resides...and then blame the first person who cooks something and starts a fire - 'cause, what an idiot!)

[Dane]

You "believe" pyrotechnicians have to be licensed but you really don't know. You also don't know if the club or the pyrotechnician is required to get the permit. You're revealing that there are things about this situation you have assumed, just like you've assumed that the club owners are telling the truth and that the band is lying. That's what I'm trying to get you to stop doing.

Yes assumed from what I saw from the WPRI footage. Those pyrotechnics should have never have used in such a small space, IMO. Other rock stars such as Ted Nugent has said that the band was stupid that night. They should have had at the least a couple of people with fire extinguishers ready just in case something went wrong. The band assumed that room was safe. You know that old saying about the word assume, just in this case the assumptions that the band took were deadly.

[Dane]

: ) (I don't have packing foam glued to my walls, either. I think I'll go out, get some, and glue it all around my kitchen, on my cooking island where my gas cooktop resides...and then blame the first person who cooks something and starts a fire - 'cause, what an idiot!)

Then you and Xena go ahead and hire the band and ask them to use the same pyrotechnics inside your house. You all seem to have no qualms about it.

Just one suggestion, make sure you have a fire extinguisher handy.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

This is the dumbest, weakest thing about your argument - asking people if they would do it in their house. It has nothing to do with this story. Do you have a stage in your house? Do you regularly have bands in to perform? Do you have two hundred people smoking cigarettes in your house? Are you required, by law, to have regular fire code inspections in your house? Have you glued flammable packing foam to the walls?

The question is absurd, and irrelevant to anything in the actual story.

So Ted Nugent (someone I have a lot of respect for, btw) said they should have had a fire extinguisher. Yes, that would have been a good idea. I'll tell you what, though...I've been in a lot of bands that have played in clubs that size, and I've never been in one that brought a fire extinguisher to the gig. I've never been in one that used pyrotechnics, either, but there are a lot of things that generate heat on stage...probably would have been a good idea for us, too, but I guess we figured the club was safe and that the club would have them.

Boy, were we stupid. What were we thinking, working there?

(There was a fire extinguisher near the mixing console, as I understand it, but the fire was out of control so quickly that the club employee who grabbed it decided to exit the club without trying to use it.)

[TLBSHOW]

GREAT WHITE HAS A NEW CD COMING OUT IN 4 WEEKS


The band hopes to release an album in about four weeks, to be called "Regular Guy," collecting music Longley recorded with Great White and other musicians, interspersed with recordings of prank telephone calls he made, Wollnough said after the service.


Proceeds would go to a memorial fund relatives are establishing for scholarships and to benefit Longley's unborn child. Longley's girlfriend is four months pregnant.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030303/ap_en_mu/great_white_funeral_1