Budweiser Hit By Great White Concert Fire Victims; Lawsuits Getting Out Of Hand?
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Album:Once Bitten
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Lawsuits are still looming from the 2003 Great White concert fire at the Station nightclub in Rhode Island, where pyrotechnics set flammable soundproofing foam on the club's walls and ceiling aflame. More than 200 people were injured and 100 people died.$122 million has been given to the 300+ survivors and victims' relatives that have sued people and companies involved with the nightclub.According to "Pollstar.com":http://pollstar.com/news/viewnews.pl?NewsID=10286 the plaintiffs have gone after the Home Depot, which sold insulation used in the club, the American Foam Corporation, accused of selling the flammable foam to the club, and Clear Channel Broadcasting, whose local rock radio station promoted the concert. More recently they went after Anheuser -Busch, yeah good ol' Budweiser, and its Rhode Island-based distributor, McLaughlin & Moran. Lawyers claimed that McLaughlin & Moran ran a Budweiser promotion the night of the show, with a banner for the beer hanging outside the club, as well as airing radio advertisements for the concert.
Instead of fighting the thing out in court and paying the high lawyer fees and etc, Anheuser-Busch and McLaughlin & Moran agreed to pay a cool $21 million to the victims, but did not take any blame for the fire.Now, I am a little confused at how this suing thing works. When I flew off my bike in college should I have sued the bike manufacturer? The asphalt company that paved the street? The tire company of the bike I was riding on? In this case, I feel that the Station fire was the direct responsibility of the club owners, the band and their management. Perhaps if I had been more directly related to the victims or the incident I would feel the need for some monetary compensation?Owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, who installed the foam, and former Great White tour manager Daniel Biechele, plead to involuntary manslaughter charges. Biechele and Michael Derderian were served with four-year prison sentences, with Biechele released on parole in March.Jeffrey Derderian was slapped with 500 hours of community service and three years probation. Do you think Budweiser should be held partly accountable for the fire?
Instead of fighting the thing out in court and paying the high lawyer fees and etc, Anheuser-Busch and McLaughlin & Moran agreed to pay a cool $21 million to the victims, but did not take any blame for the fire.Now, I am a little confused at how this suing thing works. When I flew off my bike in college should I have sued the bike manufacturer? The asphalt company that paved the street? The tire company of the bike I was riding on? In this case, I feel that the Station fire was the direct responsibility of the club owners, the band and their management. Perhaps if I had been more directly related to the victims or the incident I would feel the need for some monetary compensation?Owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, who installed the foam, and former Great White tour manager Daniel Biechele, plead to involuntary manslaughter charges. Biechele and Michael Derderian were served with four-year prison sentences, with Biechele released on parole in March.Jeffrey Derderian was slapped with 500 hours of community service and three years probation. Do you think Budweiser should be held partly accountable for the fire?
Comments (11)
":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budějovický_Budvar (the other was from Plzen, so we sort of have a "good beer" tradition in the family), anything bad that happens to Anheuser-Busch {at least where their "Budweiser" brand is concerned} tends to move me to Schadenfreude. That said, i don't really think AB should be involved in this. *That* said, i *do* think that Home Depot and the manufacturer *should* be at least partly liable, since they apparently sold a flammable material for structural use. And, on the gripping hand, i think *primary* liability should, indeed, rest on the club and the band. (I'm trying to remember - wasn't there a fire inside a dome stadium somewhere caused by indoor fireworks?)
Basic legal doctrine - the Captain is responsible for whatever happens to his ship, even if he was asleep belowdecks when it happened.
As an example:
in 1969, the US destroyer Frank E. Evans was on joint maneuvers with an Australian carrier, and, during the night, made an improper turn across the carrier's bows, resulting in a collision that cut the Evans in two, killing 74 crew members (out of 273).
From Wikipedia:While "[having] their positions in the promotion list moved down" maynot sound like much of a punishment, it effectively ended their Naval careers, likewise the reprimand to the Captain pretty much ended his career.
But the reson i quoted all that is to point out that even though the man was sound asleep at the time of the collision, and (though not mentioned here) that his standing orders for watchstanders were disobeyed in the run-up to the collision, it was still his responsibility.
Likewise, under US law, at least, what yoour employee does as part of his discharge of his duties for you is at least *partly* your responsibility.