Passa v. Derderian

308 F.Supp.2d 43 (D.R.I. 2004)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

A deadly fire destroyed a nightclub located in Rhode Island. The club was crowded with spectators, staff, and performers. Ds members of the band 'Great White' took the and ignited pyrotechnic devices as a part of their performance. The sparks from these fireworks ignited foam insulation installed in the club's ceiling and walls for soundproofing purposes. In less than three minutes, the entire establishment was ablaze, and the 412 people inside the building were scrambling to escape. The fire left 100 individuals dead and more than 200 injured. Even those physically uninjured are emotionally scarred. Lawsuits were filed in both state and federal courts. This Court is concerned with five of these cases. Three of these cases are civil actions filed by fire victims, their estates, and surviving family members alleging a variety of different state law tort claims against a host of different named Defendants. The other two cases are miscellaneous petitions, also originally filed in Rhode Island Superior Court and removed to this Court by Anheuser-Busch. These miscellaneous petitions name only a handful of Defendants termed therein as 'Respondents' or 'Interested Parties.' The issue before the Court is the question of jurisdiction. In each of the five cases described above, jurisdiction in federal court is alleged under a new statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1369, popularly known as the Multiparty, Multiforum, Trial Jurisdiction Act of 2002 ('MMTJA'). This is a new jurisdictional act greatly expanding the original and removal jurisdiction of the federal courts. Each of the five cases has a motion pending on the same jurisdictional issue. Ds have filed motions to remand the case to state court for lack of jurisdiction, or, in the alternative, have asked this Court to abstain from exercising jurisdiction under §1369.