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The final defendants to settle lawsuits over a 2003 nightclub fire that killed 100 people have agreed to pay survivors and victims' relatives more than $250,000, according to court papers. Seven insurance companies and the former owner of the Station nightclub in West Warwick reached the settlement. The insurance companies will distribute $262,500, and Howard Julian, accused of installing defective insulation material at the nightclub, will contribute $3,000. More than $176 million has been offered by the dozens of people and companies sued after the fire. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Members of the rock band Great White, whose pyrotechnics sparked a nightclub fire that killed 100 people in 2003 in West Warwick, have agreed to pay $1 million to survivors and victims' relatives, according to court papers. Roughly $175 million has now been offered by dozens of defendants to settle lawsuits over the blaze, which also injured more than 200 people and is the fourth-deadliest nightclub fire in American history. The band does not admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement, which requires the approval of the more than 300 people suing as well as the federal judge handling the case. Great White's insurer is covering the settlement. A Duke law professor has been appointed to work out a formula to determine how much settlement money each person should receive. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Anheuser-Busch and a Cranston beer distributor have agreed to pay $21 million to settle lawsuits brought by survivors of a 2003 nightclub fire and relatives of the 100 people killed, according to court papers. The February 2003 fire at the Station nightclub in West Warwick began when pyrotechnics used by the rock band Great White ignited flammable soundproofing foam. More than 200 people were injured. Anheuser-Busch, the latest big-name defendant to settle the case, and its Cranston-based distributor, McLaughlin & Moran, did not admit wrongdoing. The latest agreements with plaintiffs' lawyers mean that more than $122 million has been offered by more than a dozen defendants, including Home Depot, which sold insulation used in the club, and Clear Channel Broadcasting, whose local rock radio station promoted the concert. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Several foam makers have agreed to pay $30 million to settle lawsuits brought by survivors and family members of those who died in a 2003 nightclub fire that killed 100 people, according to court papers. The companies that agreed to settle include Leggett & Platt, based in Carthage, Mo., and Wm. T. Burnett & Company, based in Baltimore. More than $100 million has now been offered to victims of the fire at the Station nightclub in West Warwick from several companies, including Home Depot and Clear Channel Broadcasting. The fire was started when a pyrotechnics display for the rock band Great White ignited the flammable foam soundproofing material. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A speaker maker and two bus companies have agreed to tentative settlements stemming from a fire at a Rhode Island nightclub that killed 100 people. Court papers show the companies agreed to pay a combined $1.3 million to fire survivors and families of victims of the 2003 fire at the Station in West Warwick. A pyrotechnics display for the band Great White started the fire. The band used speakers from JBL Inc. that a lawsuit alleged had flammable foam inside. JBL says it will pay $815,000. ABC Bus Leasing Inc. and Superstar Services, which leased buses for band members and the fireworks, have agreed to pay a combined $500,000. None of the companies admit wrongdoing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]