Swift OK sought for Station fire plan
01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday March 5, 2009
PROVIDENCE –– A lawyer representing many of the victims of the Station nightclub fire yesterday pleaded with a U.S. magistrate judge to approve a proposed plan for distributing $176 million in settlement offers that have been made to those who lost loved ones or suffered injuries in the catastrophic blaze.
Lawyer Mark Mandell, speaking on behalf of all of the plaintiffs who have sued for damages, told U.S. Magistrate Judge David L. Martin, “Time is of the essence to our clients … Our clients are in need. We are very much concerned for them.”
Since no objections have been filed to the distribution plan proposed by Duke University law Prof. Francis E. McGovern, there is no reason to further hold up the process of working out how much each victim will get, he said.
Mandell also asked Martin to approve the appointment of Jeffrey Dahl, of Faribault, Minn., as a neutral verification expert. Dahl, he said, is standing ready to review documents submitted by the fire victims to make sure that the information they provide on damage-claim forms is accurate.
Mandell also asked Martin to appoint Massachusetts lawyer Paul A. Finn as administrator for a trust fund that needs to be created as a repository for the settlement proceeds. Martin said he would give the defendants in the lawsuits 24 hours to request a hearing on the plaintiffs’ motions but said he was inclined to rule without holding a hearing since no written objections have been filed.
One hundred people died in the fire at The Station, on Cowesett Avenue in West Warwick, the night of Feb. 20, 2003. More than 200 others were injured. The fire erupted after sparks from pyrotechnics set off by the rock band Great White ignited highly flammable polyurethane foam that had been installed as soundproofing on the walls and ceiling of the club by its owners, Michael and Jeffrey Derderian.
The $176 million in settlement offers comes from every defendant still being sued by the fire victims. At this point, none of the plaintiffs knows exactly what he or she will get because the distribution plan devised by McGovern is based on a system that awards different points for death cases and for injury claims. The system is similar to those used in other mass liability cases, such as the settlements in the 9/11 attacks. McGovern has determined that the medical expenses incurred by each victim “are the only effective, objective basis upon which an allocation of points can be based.”
Martin scheduled another hearing for next Thursday at 2 p.m.