Civil-Suit Lawyers In GREAT WHITE Fire Ask To Test Some Foam

July 15, 2005

Tracy Breton of the Providence Journal has issued the following report:

Lawyers representing victims of the Station nightclub fire were in U.S. District Court yesterday, complaining that state prosecutors were attempting to renege on an agreement they had made to allow them to conduct destructive testing on a small amount of the soundproofing foam that was taken from the club after the deadly fire.

Lawyers representing 100 people who died in the Feb. 20, 2003, nightclub fire and about 250 others who were injured in the blaze say they need to have experts conduct invasive tests on a "miniscule" amount of the polyurethane foam in an effort to pinpoint what company manufactured it.

The statute of limitations for adding defendants to the civil lawsuits filed by the victims' families will toll in seven months. After that, the victims' lawyers will not be able to sue anyone else for monetary damages.

The highly flammable foam that covered the walls and ceiling of The Station is a centerpiece of the civil and criminal cases stemming from the nightclub fire.

Prosecutors assert that the owners of the nightclub, Michael A. and Jeffrey A. Derderian — each of whom is charged with 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter — were criminally negligent when they decided to install the foam as soundproofing, then allowed bands to use pyrotechnics inside the club, in close proximity to the foam.

A third defendant in the criminal case, Daniel M. Biechele, was the tour manager for the rock band GREAT WHITE. He is facing the same charges as the Derderians because he set off fireworks inside The Station without a permit on the night of the fire.

The criminal lawyers want to conduct tests on the foam that the Derderians bought to determine how fast it burns and the toxicity of the chemicals emitted upon ignition. The victims' lawyers have additional interests: they want to conclusively determine who manufactured the foam installed inside the West Warwick nightclub.

Read the rest of the article at Projo.com (free registration required).

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