Club Fire Tragedy
New Developments: Insurance Company Wants Court To Excuse It From Claims In Club Fire Case
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) _ The company that insured The Station nightclub is asking a court to excuse it from covering claims against the owners of the land where the club stood.
Essex Mutual Insurance Co. of Glen Allen, Va., issued a general liability policy to club co-owner Michael Derderian for The Station.
Triton Realty Inc., which owns the property where the clubstood, has sued its own insurers and Essex, asking the court torequire they cover any claims against Triton stemming from the Feb.
20 fire at the West Warwick nightclub that killed 100 people and injured nearly 200 others.
Essex claims in documents filed Tuesday in Providence Superior Court that there is no indication Triton was covered under thepolicy it issued to Derderian.
Dan McKiernan, who represents Triton, said a missing piece of correspondence is at issue.
McKiernan said the Derderians had become aware they failed to
include Triton on their policy as required by their lease, and tried to fix the problem.
He said the Derderians' insurance agency sent a letter to Essex Jan. 3, seeking to add Triton as an insured party. An agent at Essex says he never received the letter, McKiernan said.
Essex also is seeking a ruling stating that even if Triton had been added to the policy, Essex would be responsible only for defending Triton from claims that it was liable for negligence at
the nightclub.
The insurance company also is asking for a ruling that it would not have to defend Triton against any claim for injury of propertydamage to the club's employees.
Triton has been named in one of the three lawsuits filed since the fire. That suit alleged the property owner should have been aware of fire hazards at the club.
The deadly blaze began when a band's pyrotechnics ignited flammable foam placed on the club's walls as soundproofing.
|