Mid-June target date for settlement money
PROVIDENCE — Victims of the deadly 2003 Station nightclub fire could get most of their settlement money by mid-June.
A lawyer representing the plaintiffs in the personal-injury lawsuits told a federal judge Tuesday that about 550 people will be getting settlement checks — 305 primary plaintiffs and more than 200 of their relatives who are entitled to smaller amounts for loss of consortium.
The lawyer, Mark Mandell, told the court that he will file a motion by the end of this week asking the court to set May 7 as the starting date for the 30-day period under which most of the defendants will have to pay up. If Senior U.S. District Court Judge Ronald R. Lagueux agrees, then 70 percent of the $176-million in settlement money would have to be deposited into a trust account within 30 days of the court order. The remaining 30 percent would be paid out to the plaintiffs at the end of 90 days.
Creditors who have bankruptcy claims and Medicare and Medicaid liens would be taken care of before settlements are paid out to individual victims. Delinquent child-support would also be subtracted from any settlements paid out. The settlement money will be paid into a trust account that has been established at Citizens Bank.
Under the best-case scenario, the victims could start getting their money from their lawyers by mid-June. But defense lawyers, who just received 12,200 pages of documents to review before a final signing off on the payouts, will have a chance to object to the start date of the 30-day period.
The Feb. 20, 2003, fire at the West Warwick nightclub killed 100 people and injured more than 200 others.
Sixty-five defendants have agreed to contribute to the settlements, including the Town of West Warwick and the State of Rhode Island.