Deadly 2003 R.I. Nightclub Fire Spurs Complex, Ongoing Court Case

Al Prudhomme isn’t sure exactly whom to blame for a 2003 nightclub fire that killed two of his band mates, about a dozen friends and 100 people total. But he figures there’s plenty of blame to go around.

“It’s not any one person,” said Prudhomme, whose band Fathead performed at The Station nightclub before the band Great White took the stage with a pyrotechnic display that triggered the fire. “It’s a collaboration of mistakes by people.”

Lawsuits filed by about 300 survivors and victims’ relatives and now working their way through the courts name the state of Rhode Island, Anheuser-Busch, Clear Channel Broadcasting and a slew of others whose decisions or actions may have contributed to what happened. By the victims’ tally, about 90 defendants could be to blame.

“You realize that when you look at the scope of the thing, that it was more than just the actions of a few people that played a role in this,” said Steven Minicucci, part of a team of attorneys representing victims.

The lawsuits use a wide focus lens to examine the Feb. 20, 2003 fire and the events that led up to that night.

Lawyers for victims’ families accuse Anheuser-Busch and its local distributor of helping promote the show by, for example, displaying a Budweiser banner outside the club. They say the beer company should have known that Great White used pyrotechnics.

They blame Clear Channel, saying one of its radio stations advertised the show, gave away tickets and had one of its disc jockeys serve as master of ceremonies that night.

They blame several foam manufacturers, saying they made the flammable foam that was affixed to walls of the club for soundproofing. The foam ignited almost instantly when hit by sparks from the pyrotechnics, then quickly spread flames and toxic black smoke through the club.

They blame West Warwick town officials for failing to correct the club’s shoddy conditions, and the fire marshal who admitted overlooking the foam during multiple inspections.

They blame the previous club owner, members of Great White and a TV cameraman who was there as the fire began.

Many of the defendants dispute they had any part in what happened that night, and they’re fighting to get out of the case.

Anheuser-Busch says it did not promote or sponsor the band, had no control over the concert and should never have been sued.

Foam companies say no one has proved they made the foam that lined the club’s walls and ignited so quickly.

Clear Channel says it had nothing to do with Great White’s use of pyrotechnics and had no responsibility for the club’s conditions.

The lawsuits are far larger than the criminal case: only club owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian and former Great White tour manager Daniel Biechele were charged criminally. All three reached plea deals on involuntary manslaughter charges last year.

“Criminally, you can’t go after a foam company that maybe has much more indirect involvement,” said Michael St. Pierre, another lawyer for the victims’ families.

But lawsuits are a different story. “You look at all the contributing factors that led to this tragedy,” St. Pierre said.

Legal experts say it also makes sense to find defendants capable of paying the victims — especially in a case involving 100 deaths, more than 200 injuries and medical bills that in some cases total millions of dollars. It’s unlikely anyone could get much money from the men convicted: the Derderians filed for bankruptcy and Biechele presumably is not wealthy.

“Your claim is only as good as the defendants’ assets,” said Niki Kuckes, a law professor at Roger Williams University. “You could have somebody who has an enormous amount of fault in the thing and has no money. So if you sue them and you win, all you get is a moral victory.”

Lawyers began filing lawsuits within weeks of the fire. They eventually included about 90 defendants in a consolidated federal case, though some are related companies. A few have been dismissed.

In recent months, a handful of defendants, including Home Depot, have reached tentative settlements totaling $18.5 million, and lawyers are hoping for more agreements. With so many defendants and so many deaths and serious injuries, the case could eventually see a huge payout. A judge appointed a law school professor to create a formula to divide settlement money among survivors and victims’ families.

Meanwhile, some of the remaining companies that believe they have only a remote link to the fire are trying to get of the case.

“The fire was a terrible tragedy, and there is an understandable desire to try to compensate its unfortunate victims,” Clear Channel lawyers wrote in court papers earlier this year. “But legal responsibility for injuries cannot be, and never has been, equated solely with the desire to compensate, no matter how compelling.”

Prudhomme said he was ambivalent about the early settlements because no amount of money could bring back the fire victims. “How do you put a price tag on people’s lives?” Prudhomme asked. “It’s irrelevant; it doesn’t do anything for me.”