R.I. Victims Seek Relief
The first federal lawsuit to result from February’s fire at the
Great White show in West Warwick, Rhode Island, was filed yesterday
in U.S. District Court in Providence. The suit names as defendants
Great White, the band’s management and label Knight Records, the
Station nightclub owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian,
pyrotechnics manufacturer Luna Tech, foam manufacturer American
Foam, the town of West Warwick, the state of Rhode Island, and the
concert’s sponsors Clear Channel Entertainment and Anheuser-Busch.
Attorney Ronald Resmini filed the suit on behalf of three
plaintiffs: two survivors of the fire — one who suffered burns and
one who suffered inhalation injuries — and the family of one of
the ninety-nine who died after Great White’s pyrotechnics ignited a
fire that razed the nightclub. He estimates the value of the death
claim at between $1 and $3 million dollars; the burn claim at
between $750,000 and $1.5 million; and the inhalation claim at
between $600,000 and $1.2 million. Those numbers, compounded by the
fact that there were over 200 victims killed or injured in the
fire, explain the complexity and the scope of the lawsuit: Clear
Channel and Anheuser-Busch, also named in the dozen or so
state-level civil suits, could be the only defendants with the
financial wherewithal to pay judgements.
“Rhode Island has what’s known as ‘joint-several liability,'”
Resmini explains. “If a defendant is found even one percent liable,
they are responsible for paying 100 percent of the amount of the
claim.” Resmini maintains that Anheuser-Busch and Clear Channel are
liable because they were sponsors of the Station’s Great White
show, contributing to the overcrowding that resulted in clogged and
blocked exits as people tried to escape the fire. Clear Channel
owns Providence rock radio station WHJY, which promoted the
concert; its DJ Michael Gonsalves was on location at the club and
died in the fire. Anheuser-Busch also had an employee on site,
running a promotion for a special batch of Bud.
Resmini isn’t following a particular precedent in going after
the concert’s sponsors but maintains he’s on solid legal ground.
“It’s a common sense negligence issue,” he says. “When you put an
agent on the property to promote a product, you have a
responsibility to make sure it is done safely.” He adds that
Anheuser-Busch’s obligation is compounded by the fact that alcohol
impairs judgement and slows response time, both of which could have
hindered club-goers’ ability to react to and escape from the
blaze.
Lawsuits like the one Resmini is heading could be the only
recourse for victims of the fire and their families. A Station
Nightclub Fire Relief Fund, administered by the United Way, has
collected about $2 million to put toward victims’ hospital bills,
which are ultimately expected to exceed $100 million. It will
probably fall to Rhode Island taxpayers to cover the difference.
President Bush turned down Governor Donald Carcieri’s request for
federal disaster assistance, even though the catastrophe killed
more Americans than enemy fire in Iraq.
Neither has a major benefit for the victims yet taken shape. An
April 11th charity show at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel in Providence
that featured Van Halen, Aerosmith, the Who and Jimi Hendrix
tribute bands raised $10,000. And Great White have only committed
to play one song at an April 29th benefit in Los Angeles for the
family of their guitarist Ty Longely, who died in the fire. The
band is denying rumors of an upcoming tour, though singer Jack
Russell has sounded out at least one former member of the band
about the project.
The lack of ready assistance and relief has left survivors
feeling forgotten and angry — angry at politicians in Washington
and Rhode Island, and angry at the music industry, which has been
strangely silent. “I get a message from the government and the
entertainment industry and that is, if you don’t have money, your
value as a person is less,” says Neil Burns, singer for Aerosmith
cover band Draw the Line, who played at the April 11th benefit.
“‘It was just a club, some blue-collar people going to see some
blue-collar music.'”
Some displeasure has also been directed at Great White. “It was
god-awful of them to leave right after the fire,” says Julie
Mellini, a former Station bartender whose friend Linda Fisher
sustained burns over forty percent of her body and spent
excruciating weeks in intensive care. “They could’ve visited some
of the burn victims, if they really gave a shit. They’ve had the
opportunity to go back to Los Angeles and evade everything.”
Says Joe Bevilacqua, programming director at WHJY, “If Great
White toured, the reaction here would be very negative. I’m not
playing Great White music on the radio anymore, out of respect for
those who died.”