Attorneys say in court that city partly to blame

Attorneys for the Sofa Super Store and one of the furniture companies being sued by the families of firefighters who died in the 2007 fire said in court Monday that the city of Charleston bears great responsibility for the deaths and should be added as a defendant.

The city is immune from paying damages in such a case, but adding the city as a defendant and allowing a jury to potentially assign the city some blame for the nine firefighter deaths could reduce any award the remaining defendants might have to pay.

"There's no question the city bears a large measure of fault for the deaths of the firefighters," said attorney McRoy Shelley, representing home furnishings manufacturer Best Chairs Inc.

Lawyers representing several of the deceased firefighters' estates argued against including the city as a defendant, which could reduce any damage awards.

"The city is exempt," said attorney Kevin Dean, representing the estate of firefighter Melvin Champaign. "We didn't pursue any claims against the city."

In the back-and-forth before Circuit Judge Markley Dennis, the competing sides laid out their interpretations of case law and tort claims regulations, and disagreed about whether the statute of limitations had already passed.

Richard Rosen, representing the Sofa Super Store, said the intent of current tort law is that juries should decide which parties deserve what portion of the blame for an incident, and not just divide the blame among the parties that can be sued for damage awards.

"It's very clear the city is largely responsible," he said. "It's very clear they should be part of the lawsuit."

Several Charleston city attorneys attended the hearing but did not participate. The city did file a brief arguing against being included as a defendant.

Dennis did not immediately issue a ruling, or say when one would be forthcoming.

In a courthouse hallway after the hearing, Rosen said the city should be a defendant because "otherwise, we have to pay their share" of any damage award.

"At the end of the day, I think it's all the city's responsibility," Rosen told reporters.

City attorney Sandra Senn said it's true that several studies of the fire have pointed out Fire Department deficiencies, but she said the important difference is that the city didn't know of the problems before the fire. She said Sofa Super Store owner Herb Goldstein, in contrast, was well aware of problems that contributed to the deaths of the firefighters.

"Mr. Goldstein built five illegal additions (to the store) and padlocked exit doors," she said.

Reach David Slade at 937-5552 or dslade@postandcourier.com.