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April 24, 2008

Station fire lawyers want to question Derderians

PROVIDENCE -- Lawyers representing victims of The Station nightclub fire are asking a federal court judge to allow them to proceed with questioning of Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, the owners of the West Warwick nightclub.

The court issued a stay in November 2004 that barred the victims’ lawyers from questioning the brothers while they were facing manslaughter charges in connection with the deadly fire at their club. One-hundred people died from the Feb. 20, 2003, fire; more than 200 others were injured.

Now, the lawyers say, they should be allowed to proceed with taking sworn testimony from the Derderians because their criminal cases are over and “it no longer appears that Jeffrey or Michael Derderian will be subject to further state or federal criminal charges.”

The lawyers say that the Derderians’ testimony concerning the events that occurred the night of the fire at their club “is critical to the plaintiffs’ case. Jeffrey was a witness to the events that took place on that night,” the lawyers say in their motion. “In addition, a number of [other defendants who have been sued by the victims] have listed Jeffrey and Michael Derderian as people they would depose because their testimony is of general interest.”

On Sept. 29, 2006, the brothers were sentenced in Superior Court after pleading no-contest to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter. Jeffrey was spared a prison sentence and last November, completed 500 hours of community service.

Michael was sentenced to a four-year term at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston. The Parole Board decided in January that he will be released one year early from that sentence. He is now scheduled to be freed in October 2009.

-- Journal staff writer Tracy Breton

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 4:05 PM | Permalink

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