A federal judge in Hartford has transferred to U.S. District Court in Rhode Island a lawsuit filed on behalf of eight Connecticut residents who were killed or injured in The Station nightclub fire.
U.S. District Court Judge Dominic J. Squatrito, in a written decision filed Oct. 3, acknowledges that it will be less convenient for the Connecticut plaintiffs to have their lawsuit heard in Providence and that travel time could increase the cost of pursuing their claims.
But Squatrito said that "the interest of justice demands a transfer to the District of Rhode Island. There is a strong local interest in adjudicating this dispute in Rhode Island."
He added: "Although the Connecticut communities where the plaintiffs in this action reside have been affected, the epicenter of this tragedy lies in Rhode Island.
"The wounds inflicted upon the community around The Station run deep," he said. "This is so not only because of grief over the loss of life, but also the sense of angst regarding responsibility for the fire."
Squatrito also said in his decision that because "crucial physical evidence" is being stored in a Cranston warehouse, it is "in the interest of justice" to have the case heard in Rhode Island. Making the decision to transfer the case now, before pretrial discovery is conducted in the case, "would eliminate future uncertainty, and expensive litigation, about the proper forum for the fire," the Connecticut judge wrote.
Squatrito's decision to transfer the case to Senior U.S. District Judge Ronald R. Lagueux in Providence came on a motion filed by Anheuser-Busch, the St. Louis beer manufacturer which has been named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Plaintiffs Jude B. Henault, of Lisbon; Henault's companion, Samuel A. Miceli Jr., also of Lisbon; Melvin A. Gerfin Jr., of Groton; and Sarah Jane Telgarsky, of Plainfield, who all died in the fire, along with four other Connecticut residents who were injured in the blaze, Nancy Noyes, of New London; Glenn and Lisa Johnson, a Ledyard couple; and Lisa's sister, Melanie Holliday, allege that Anheuser-Busch was a sponsor of the rock concert at The Station at which the fire broke out.
One hundred people died and more than 200 were injured in the fire which started when the band Great White set off pyrotechnics, which ignited highly flammable packing foam that the owners of the nightclub had installed as soundproofing.
Joining in Anheuser-Busch's motion for the change of venue were named defendants and alleged sponsors of the concert, Shell Oil and Motiva Enterprises; Triton Realty Limited Partnership, which owned the property where the nightclub stood; American Foam, of Johnston, and its employee, Barry Warner, who sold the soundproofing foam to the owners of The Station; Jack Russell, the lead singer of Great White; and Luna Tech Inc., which allegedly manufactured the pyrotechnics the band set off.
Lawyers for the Connecticut plaintiffs argued against the change of venue.
One of the Connecticut lawyers, Joseph I. Reardon Jr., told Lagueux in a hearing Wednesday that if he were to decide to abstain from hearing the fire cases and to send them all to the Rhode Island Superior Court for trial, the Connecticut case would have to go back to the federal court in Hartford.
Reardon urged Lagueux not to wait to allow pretrial discovery to begin because he wants to begin taking depositions [sworn statements given under oath] before people's memories fade.
Lagueux said he wants to do more legal research before deciding whether all the fire cases should be consolidated in his court or whether they should be tried in state court.
