One hundred people died in the fast-moving blaze and more than 200 suffered injuries. The fire began when the tour manager for the rock band Great White set off fireworks inside the club without a permit. Sparks from the pyrotechnics ignited highly flammable polyurethane foam that the owners of the club, Michael and Jeffrey Derderian, installed on the walls and ceiling of the club as soundproofing. All three men were prosecuted on involuntary-manslaughter charges. Two were given prison terms, the third, a sentence of community service.

In court papers filed with Lagueux this week, the victims’ lawyers say that hiring McGovern independently -- without court oversight -- would be detrimental to their clients.

Since there are many minors suing for damages, as well as estates of people who died, Lagueux and a raft of probate judges will have to determine if the proposed settlements are in the best interest of the deceased and their surviving children. If McGovern isn’t appointed by Lagueux, they say, his efforts in developing a grid for settlement distributions “would have to be duplicated by a multitude of specially appointed guardians ad litem for all minor plaintiffs and many of the estates and potentially by the court itself.”

The victims’ lawyers assert that they have “built-in conflicts of interest” in allocating settlement funds and that they need to have an independent, court-approved master who would decide what each person should get. They say it would be unethical for them to decide what each of their clients should receive from the settlement money because they each represent more than one victim and their job is to ensure that each client gets the maximum amount possible. Having an independent, court-authorized third-party decide what each victim should receive, based on a grid, would be the fairest and most objective way of distributing the money, they argue.

They point out that of the approximately 90 defendants they are suing, only two -- General Foam and Foamex -- are objecting to McGovern’s appointment by the court. And they contend that none of the parties they are suing has a legal right to object.

The victims lawyers say that if Lagueux appoints the special master, it will not entangle him in any fee disputes, nor will it cost the defendants any money. Any fees charged by McGovern would be paid by the plaintiffs, they say.

The defendants who have offered tentative settlements thus far are:

* Luna Tech Inc., of Alabama -- and two of its European subsidiaries -- which the lawsuits contend manufactured the pyrotechnics used by Great White the night of The Station fire.

* High Tech Special Effects Inc., a Tennessee company that is alleged to have sold the fireworks used by Great White at club the night of the fire.

* Celotex Corp., which manufactured SoundStop board and then sold it for distribution to consumers. According to the lawsuits, the Derderians purchased SoundStop for their nightclub from Home Depot and then installed it in the ceiling of the drummer’s alcove and elsewhere inside The Station.

* Triton Realty and Raymond Villanova, owners of the building on Cowesett Avenue where The Station was located.

* Joseph LaFontaine, of Warwick, owner of New England Custom Alarms, the company that installed the fire alarm system at the club when it was owned by Howard Julian, before the Derderians bought it.