Thursday, 4:30 PM
Plaintiffs in Station nightclub fire suits hire conflict specialist
By Stephen Kurkjian
GLOBE STAFF
Lawyers representing more than 300 people who lost loved ones or who were injured in the devastating fire that swept a Rhode Island nightclub nearly four years ago have agreed to hire a nationally recognized specialist in conflict resolution as a first step toward trying to settle dozens of civil lawsuits.
The suits have been filed against the owners of the nightclub and nearly 100 others whom the lawyers allege played a role in the tragedy.
A team of nine lawyers who represent most of the plaintiffs sent a letter Thursday to the federal judge in Providence who is hearing the case requesting approval of their motion to hire Francis E. McGovern, a professor at Duke University Law School as a special master.
According to a 2003 profile on the law school’s website, McGovern helped organize the distribution of $2.4 billion compensating 100,000 women who had sued the maker of the Dalkon Shield contraceptive intrauterine device and helped forge solutions in cases involving DDT toxic exposure in Alabama. McGovern did not return phone calls yesterday.
McGovern would not be involved in negotiating with defendants to settle, according to the letter, which said that task would be taken up by others, who were not identified.
Max Wistow of Providence, one of the nine lawyers, said last night they had started negotiating a settlement with one defendant, whom he declined to name.
‘‘We’re just beginning this process, but we’ve already had some serious discussions [with the defendant] about a negotiated settlement,’’ Wistow said. ‘‘Some clients are in serious economic conditions, and if we can, we would like to be ready to distribute money under some equitable plan.’’ He declined to speculate how long a settlement might take.
If US District Judge Ronald R. Lagueux, who is presiding over the civil suits, approves the appointment, McGovern would develop ‘‘an objective system whereby settlement funds could be distributed to our clients,’’ said the lawyers’ letter obtained by the Globe.
If a settlement were reached, the amount of money each plaintiff would receive would depend on the degree of harm suffered. In exchange, the plaintiffs would drop lawsuits against defendants who agreed to contribute to a settlement fund.
While none of the lawsuits filed in federal court in Providence have put a dollar amount on the harm caused by the fire, some lawyers have privately estimated the amount to be between $350 million and $500 million.
Lawsuits against defendants who do not agree to settle will continue, however, a process that Lagueux estimated in 2004 could take five or six years.
One hundred people, including 33 from Massachusetts, died in what was the most deadly fire in Rhode Island’s history and the fourth deadliest in the country.
In addition, more than 200 people were injured in the blaze, which was touched off by a pyrotechnics display accompanying the concert by rock group Great White that ignited flammable soundproofing on the nightclub’s ceiling and walls.
In July, the Rhode Island Legislature enacted a change in the state’s civil court procedures geared toward making settlements of the suits filed in the nightclub fire more attractive for plaintiffs. It allows plaintiffs to settle claims with defendants they’ve sued without losing the right to press suits against other defendants whose negligence may have contributed to the fire.
At the time, lawyers said it would benefit some victims, especially those who need money to pay hospital bills or for living expenses magnified by losses from the fire.
The law’s effect on the nearly 100 defendants who have been sued depends on their degree of culpability and their ability to pay damages.
The two defendants with the biggest bank accounts, Anheuser-Busch and Clear Channel Communications, which owns a Providence radio station that ran ads for the show, have argued that they should not have been included in the lawsuits.
Other defendants include Michael and Jeffrey Derderian, the brothers who owned the nightclub; the Great White band, American Foam Corp., which provided the flammable foam, and the Town of West Warwick whose former fire marshal, Dennis LaRocque, failed to detect the foam.
Jonathan Saltzman of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
Stephen Kurkjian can be reached at kurkjian@globe.com.
