$21 million settlement OK’d in suit over nightclub fire

The nightclub fire killed 100, including a Mahoning Valley man, during a Great White show.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Brewer Anheuser-Busch Inc. and a Rhode Island beer distributor have agreed to pay $21 million to settle lawsuits brought by survivors of a 2003 nightclub fire and relatives of the 100 people killed, according to court papers filed Friday.

The February 2003 fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick began when pyrotechnics used by the rock band Great White ignited flammable soundproofing foam on the club’s walls and ceiling. More than 200 people were injured.

Among those killed was Mahoning Valley native Ty Longley, a Great White guitar player who hailed from Brookfield Township in Trumbull County.

Anheuser-Busch is the latest big-name defendant to settle the case rather than bear the costs of continuing litigation or risk the uncertainty of a jury trial.

The St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch and its Cranston-based distributor, McLaughlin Moran, did not admit wrongdoing.

Under terms of the settlement, Anheuser-Busch will pay $5 million and McLaughlin Moran will pay $16 million.

The latest agreements with plaintiffs’ attorneys mean more than $122 million has now been offered to victims’ families and survivors by more than a dozen defendants, including The Home Depot, which sold insulation used in the club, and Clear Channel Broadcasting, whose local rock radio station promoted the concert.

A group of foam manufacturers agreed earlier this month to settle for $30 million.

More than 300 survivors and victims’ relatives sued dozens of people and companies over the fire. Defendants remaining in the case include the state of Rhode Island, the town of West Warwick and American Foam Corporation, a Johnston-based company accused of selling the flammable foam to the club.

Anheuser-Busch and McLaughlin Moran were named in the lawsuits because survivors and victims’ families said they helped promote the concert.

In addition, a rock radio station disc jockey who served as the master of ceremonies at the concert was paid by McLaughlin Moran for his appearance, according to court papers. The lawyers said the DJ introduced Great White and would have been positioned to stop the band from using the pyrotechnics but failed to do so.

The disc jockey, Michael Gonsalves, was among those killed.

McLaughlin Moran said in a written statement that it was pleased about the settlement and hopes the case will be concluded quickly so the money can be paid out.