A Rhode Island District Court is hearing a suit that could challenge the potential expansion of the state's statute dealing with an insurer's inspection immunity.
The action arose out of a nightclub fire that occurred on Feb. 20, 2003, during a Great White show at The Station in West Warwick. Pyrotechnics set off as part of the band's act ignited flammable soundproofing foam behind the stage, resulting in the deaths of 100 people, with another 200 suffering injuries.
Rhode Island law immunizes insurance companies from claims relating to inspections conducted in connection with the issuance of insurance policies. Essex Insurance, the defendant in the suit, issued a policy of general liability insurance to the owners of The Station. The plaintiffs alleged that Essex negligently conducted an inspection before issuing a commercial policy to the nightclub.
The Property Casualty Insurers of America has filed an amicus curiae in support of Essex. "PCI sympathizes with the victims and the families of those who lost their lives in that terrible blaze," said Robert Hurns, manager, legislative database and counsel for PCI. "However, these difficult, unsettling, and emotionally charged circumstances should not make bad law. Essex did not create the condition that was the proximate cause of the personal injuries, death, and loss described in the plaintiffs' complaint."
PCI contends that Rhode Island, as a matter of law and policy, has determined that so-called negligent insurance inspections will not lead to the imposition of liability on insurance carriers. In addition, the association noted, the Supreme Court of Rhode Island has not extended such liability to insurance carriers, and any such expansion of such liability should be determined by the state legislature.
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