Defendants in deadly nightclub fire to settle

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (Reuters) - A fireworks maker and several other defendants sued by relatives of 100 people killed in a 2003 U.S. nightclub fire have agreed to pay $13.5 million to settle claims, a lawyer in the case said on Wednesday.

The agreement in principle, outlined in a brief filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, would be the first compensation in a civil lawsuit brought by hundreds of plaintiffs against individuals and companies over the fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island, on February 20, 2003.

"It's a settlement with a small group of defendants who at this stage of the game decided in some instances ... to come up with an amount that seems rational considering their inclusion and position in the case," said Steven Minicucci, an attorney who represents more than a dozen of the 300 plaintiffs.

The fire, sparked by fireworks set off during a show by the rock band Great White, was one of the deadliest nightclub blazes in U.S. history. More than 200 people were injured.

Sparks from the fireworks ignited the club's soundproofing foam, and many patrons, overcome by toxic fumes, were trapped at the door as the wooden roadside club burned to the ground.

The defendants who agreed to settle include pyrotechnics maker Luna Tech Inc, a company that produces soundproofing material, the realty firm that owned the property where the nightclub was located and an alarm company, according to a lawyer involved in the case and court documents.

Discussions are under way with other defendants named in the lawsuit "with further settlements likely," the plaintiffs' lawyers wrote. About 40 defendants, including Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc, remain in the lawsuit, Minicucci said.

A federal judge must approve the settlement. Plaintiffs' lawyers also have requested the court appoint an authority to decide how to allocate the potential money, according to the motion filed on August 31.

The club's owners, Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, pleaded no contest last year to involuntary manslaughter.

Michael Derderian was sentenced to four years in prison. His brother, Jeffrey, was sentenced to 500 hours of community service and three years probation. The tour manager for the rock group who lit the pyrotechnics currently is serving four years in prison for his role in the fire.