Sofa Super Store to pay $1.9 million to families of Charleston firefighters
Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, July 5, 2011
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Sofa Super Store and its owners have agreed to pay about $1.9 million to settle claims brought by the families of nine Charleston firefighters who died in a fire at the store in June 2007, the Charleston Post and Courier reported.
The newspaper cited court documents and said the settlement effectively closes the case on the fire. In all, more than $18 million in settlements were paid out by more than two dozen defendants, including furniture manufacturers, in four years of litigation, an attorney told the Post and Courier.
Thought to have been started by a discarded cigarette on a loading dock, the 2007 fire ignited flammable polyurethane foam in sofas and other furniture, and the store's maze-like layout made it impossible for firefighters to escape before the building's roof collapsed, lawsuits by the plaintiffs contended. The suits also accused the owners of making changes and additions to the structure without adhering to fire and electrical codes.
The ownership group making the latest settlement included primary owner Herbert Goldstein, Herbert Goldstein LLC, the Goldstein Family Limited Partnership and Furniture Retailers of Charleston Inc., the Post and Courier said.
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