Nightclub co-owners offering $813,000

Tentative pact set with victims' kin in Station fire

Station co-owner Jeff Derderian was given probation.

The two brothers who owned the Station nightclub in Rhode Island, where a 2003 fire killed 100 people in the fourth-deadliest nightclub blaze in US history, have reached a tentative settlement of $813,000 with survivors and relatives of the victims.

The settlement offer from Jeffrey and Michael Derderian will be paid with the balance of their liability insurance policy. The brothers received bankruptcy protection in 2006 shielding them from lawsuits. Jeffrey Derderian was a reporter for WPRI-TV at the time of the fire.

The agreement was disclosed yesterday in court papers filed in US District Court in Providence. On Tuesday, Great White, the rock band whose pyrotechnics ignited the Feb. 20, 2003, inferno at the West Warwick nightclub, agreed to pay $1 million to settle suits brought by hundreds of plaintiffs.

Anthony F. DeMarco, the Providence lawyer for the Derderian brothers and their company, Derco LLC, said his clients were relieved to reach the tentative settlement.

"I think this is another step in trying to get funds to the plaintiffs - the victims and their families," he said.

Plaintiffs' lawyers declined to publicly discuss the latest settlement offer, citing an agreement by several law firms to make no comments on the civil case to reporters.

So far, about 70 defendants have offered more than $175 million to settle suits brought by relatives of those killed and the approximately 200 people injured. The Derderians are among the last to settle.

None of the settlement money has been distributed. The offers must be approved by the plaintiffs as well as by a federal judge. A Duke University law professor has been appointed as a special master to devise a formula for distributing the money.

The fire started when Great White's tour manager, Daniel Biechele, lit a pyrotechnic display that ignited cheap foam insulation that the Derderians had installed for soundproofing.

The fire spread rapidly and thick acrid smoke made it impossible for many patrons to escape. Some perished because they were unable to get to a door.

Biechele pleaded guilty in state court in February 2006 to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter, admitting he did not have the required permit to light the pyrotechnics. He was sentenced to four years in prison and was released in March on parole after serving half that time.

The Derderians pleaded no contest in September 2006 to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter. Michael Derderian was sentenced to four years in prison. Jeffrey Derderian was spared prison and received probation.

Several defendants have reached multimillion-dollar settlements with plaintiffs. Last month, the state of Rhode Island and the town of West Warwick each agreed to pay $20 million to victims' relatives and survivors.

In May, several foam manufacturers agreed to pay $30 million to settle claims. And in February, WPRI-TV reached a tentative settlement of $30 million because its cameraman, Brian Butler, was accused of blocking an exit while filming a segment about nightclub safety when, ironically, the fire began.

Butler insisted he did not block anyone's escape, and his lawyer said the cameraman actually saved people's lives.

Jonathan Saltzman can be reached at jsaltzman@globe.com