POSTED 7:40 p.m.
PROVIDENCE -- The day after it was named in a federal lawsuit, the real
estate partnership that owns The Station nightclub property filed its
own lawsuit against the club's operators and five insurance companies.
Triton Realty Limited Partnership, and its controlling partner, filed
suit in Superior Court today asking that the insurers be required to
live up to coverage obligations.
The insurance companies named in the suit are: Essex Mutual Insurance
Co.; Merchants Insurance Co. of New Hampshire and the related Merchants
Insurance Group; and CNA Insurance Co. and the related National Fire
Insurance Co. of Hartford.
Also named in the suit are the club's owners, Jeffrey and Michael
Derderian, and their business entity, Derco LLC.
Essex Mutual provided liability coverage under a policy taken out by the
Derderians. Triton had been added as an insured party under that policy,
according to the suit.
Triton also was covered by two policies of its own obtained: Merchants,
and National Fire Insurance and CNA, which are related.
Triton's lawyer said the suit was filed to ensure the partnership's
legal costs are met as it defends against what is expected to be
multiple lawsuits stemming from the Feb. 20 fire that killed 99 people
and injured close to 200 others.
``We filed this in an effort to get the coverage we believe we're
entitled to, nothing more, nothing less,'' said Daniel P. McKiernan, the
Providence lawyer representing Triton.
McKiernan said he was forced to act by the first lawsuit stemming from
the fire that named Triton as a defendant.
``Each such underwriter has to date refused to provide unconditional
liability coverage to Triton Limited or Triton Inc. for claims arising
out of the February 20, 2003 fire,'' the lawsuit states.
McKiernan said Merchants and CNA have paid for Triton to hire its own
fire experts in connection with a recent examination of the site
coordinated by civil lawyers representing fire victims and their
families.
On Tuesday, two people injured in the fire and a woman whose husband
died at The Station filed a suit in U.S. District Court against 24 named
defendants and up to 100 John Does -- defendants not yet identified.
The named defendants included Triton Realty, which, the suits asserts
knew, or should have known that ``The Station contained defects in
construction and further failed to comply with reasonable safety
standards with knowledge that the public assembled on said property.''
Triton Realty owned the land and building at 211 Cowesett Ave, West
Warwick, in which The Station was operated by the Derderians. Triton had
leased the property to Derco LLC, which was controlled by the
Derderians, since March 1, 2000, according to the lawsuit.
The Derderians paid Triton $4,000 a month to lease the property,
according to a West Warwick liquor license application.
Triton Realty is controlled by Mary Jo Carolan of Lincoln. She is
president of a separate entity, Triton Inc., that is the general partner
in control of Triton Realty Limited Partnership and also is a plaintiff
in the suit filed yesterday.
Carolan's father, Raymond Villanova of Lincoln, is a limited partner in
the partnership.
In a telephone interview this evening, McKiernan said he believes the
federal suit filed yesterday will be just the first of many lawsuits
filed against Triton.
``Even though Triton was in compliance with the law, there appears to be
tremendous pressure to name us as a defendant, and it's impossible for
us to know at this point how expensive the litigation process is going
to be,'' McKiernan said.
