POSTED 11:50 a.m. ET
PROVIDENCE -- The state of Rhode Island and 23 other defendants were
named in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court here today on behalf of
two persons injured and a man killed in The Station nightclub fire.
It is the first time that the state, state Fire Marshal Irving J. Owens
and property owner Triton Realty have been named as defendants in a
lawsuit resulting from the Feb. 20 fire, which killed 99 people and
injured about 190.
It is also the first time a lawsuit related to The Station fire has been
filed in federal court. Two lawsuits has already been filed in Superior
Court, Providence, on behalf of three victims' families.
In a press conference yesterday afternoon at his Providence office,
lawyer Ronald Resmini said he named the state as a defendant because he
wanted to explore the state's role in enforcing sprinkler laws and
training inspectors.
Resmini also said he planned to file the lawsuit in federal court
because he wants a faster resolution to the question of whether the
state or federal court system has jurisdiction over the many lawsuits
expected to result from the fire.
The plaintiffs are Tammy Passa, 24, of Warwick; Walter Castle Jr., 29,
of North Kingstown, and Cheryl Harris-Rossi, 46, of Pawtucket. Passa and
Castle were both injured, while Harris-Rossi's husband, Joseph Rossi,
35, was killed.
The defendants also include club owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian
and members of the band Great White, the town of West Warwick and West
Warwick fire inspector Dennis Larocque.
Pyrotechnics set off as part of the band's show ignited soundproofing
foam around the stage and quickly spread through the wooden frame
building.
Like previous lawsuits, this one also names several businesses and
corporations with connections to the event. Those defendants include
pyrotechnic maker Luna Tech Inc. of Huntsville, Ala.: Anheuser-Busch
Inc. of St. Louis, Mo.; beer distributor McLaughlin and Moran Inc. of
Cranston; American Foam Corporation of Johnston; WHJY-FM of East
Providence, and its owner, Clear Channel Communications of San Antonio,
Texas.
WHJY-FM, Anheuser-Busch and McLaughlin and Moran are identified as
sponsors in the lawsuit. As part of their sponsorship, Anheuser-Busch
and McLaughlin and Moran arranged for a batch of Budweiser beer brewed
in New Hampshire to be delivered to the Station so the fans of Great
White could have the "freshest beer" that they were ever likely to have,
the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit claims The Station was beyond its licensed limit of 300
patrons, lacked sprinklers, had inadequate fire exits and failed to have
proper flame retardent material. It also alleges that state laws were
not followed for the use of pyrotechnics.
"I'm suing everybody, everybody I know as a potential defendant,"
Resmini said yesterday, adding that more defendants could be added as
the fire inquiry unfolds and the potential culpability becomes apparent.
Resmini believes the federal court can address jurisdiction faster. The
advantage of filing in federal court is "getting the issue of
jurisdiction heard sooner than later," Resmini said.
Identifying the defendants should also help decide jurisdiction of the
lawsuits, said Resmini. If the primary defendants are based outside of
Providence, jurisdiction could be with the federal court, he said.
The Multiparty, Multiforum Trial Jurisdiction Act of 2002 gives U.S.
District Court jurisdiction over certain civil cases resulting from an
accident in which at least 75 people died and a defendant resides in a
different state from where the acccident occurred.
"We have named several defendants, some from Rhode Island, some from
outside," Resmini said.
The fire at The Station appears to meet much of the criteria, but the
law includes several exceptions that would keep a case out of federal
court, said Paul Martinek, editor of Lawyers Weekly USA. It does not
give federal courts jurisdiction if the majority of plaintiffs are from
the same state as the primary defendants.
The majority of those killed in the fire were from Rhode Island, though
there were also victims from Massachusetts, Connecticut, California and
Florida.
The lawsuit asks for an unspecified amount of compensatory damages,
punitive damages, attorney's fees and any other relief the court
considers appropriate. Resmini says he wants to recover enough damages
to cover his client's hospital bills, lost wages and a "conservative"
amount for their pain and suffering.
Passa suffered burns on her arms, back and thighs. Resmini said fire
poured down on her like liquid while she was stuck with other victims in
the front doorway, trying to get out. She said a police officer pulled
her free. Passa spent four days in the hospital and later returned for
five days to have skin grafs.
Castle's throat and lungs were burned when he breathed in toxic flames.
Until recently, he needed oxygen to breath and still uses an inhaler.
He's also suffering from emotional problems as a result of the fire,
according to Resmini.
Both Passa and Castle consider themselves lucky to be alive. Castle said
he had to push a bouncer out of the way when he tried blocking a side
exit, saying it was only for the band's use.
"I walked right through flames and smoke," said Castle, who lost several
friends in the fire.
"If I had walked to the front door," he said, "I'd have been dead, too."
-- With reports from The Associated Press
