Discussion About Whether Legal Action Against Club, Band Should be Taken
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Watching Rhode Island yet again, the governor in that state says the state is, in his words, "forever changed" by the nightclub fire that killed 97. Investigators trying to determine who's to blame. The Station nightclub went up in flames on Thursday, just after the band Great White opened its show with a fireworks display, first song of the night. Attorney Kenneth Moll specializes in class action cases. He's now looking into whether or not legal action against the club and the band should be taken. Kenneth Moll is our guest right now in Chicago. Sir, good morning. Thanks for your time.</s>KENNETH MOLL, ATTORNEY: Good morning, Bill.</s>HEMMER: You believe there is clear liability in this case. Where does the liability lie?</s>MOLL: Well, you know, we've been asked to investigate claims against not only the club owners and the band, the manager and the promoter, but the manufacturer of the soundproofing material, the contractor who elected to use that material in that place and also the failed inspections by the city. So we've been asked by the families to conduct this investigation.</s>HEMMER: It seems to me in your answer you're spreading the net fairly wide. Accurate?</s>MOLL: Well, we've been asked to investigate the claims by the victims during their, during this investigation. Nobody is representing them. We believe that there's going to be limited funds available for the families and our firm has, is dedicated to conducting this investigation and representing them at no cost. We believe that the limited funds available should be shared equally and fairly amongst the victims and during this investigation they go unreported. As of now, we will conduct an investigation against all parties involved.</s>HEMMER: Kenneth, answer that question a bit more for me, if you could. What do you hope to win for the victims?</s>MOLL: Well, it's not only the limited funding that may be available for them, but to do a complete and thorough investigation into all facts, to reveal all acts of negligence in the hopes that this will not happen again.</s>HEMMER: The owners of the bar have been, in many ways, sparing in terms of their words with the press. We heard them over the weekend slightly. We heard them yesterday a little bit. Listen to what one of the owners had to say about their level of cooperation with investigators to this point.</s>JEFFREY DERDERIAN, NIGHTCLUB OWNER: Well, obviously we're devastated by what's happened here. We want to cooperate in any way we can, provide any information we can and, you know, we have our own internal investigation that's ongoing. And we want answers, too, and at the appropriate time, you know, we'll be willing, you know, to make a full statement. The number one concern right now is with the families that have been affected by this.</s>HEMMER: Kenneth, knowing that many times the answers have not been too forthcoming based on what the investigators are telling us, how does that impact your case going forward right now with the owners?</s>MOLL: Well, it's clear that the owners knew pyrotechnics were being used in this establishment by prior bands. They knew it was being conducted that night. The management knew when the band was setting up that pyrotechnics were being used that night. So for them to claim that they did not know pyrotechnics were being used is clearly wrong.</s>HEMMER: We are going to talk with...</s>MOLL: And...</s>HEMMER: We are going to talk with an attorney next hour for the band. He says there was a verbal agreement, a discussion that took place earlier in the evening in which one of the bar owners of The Station was talking with the tour manager for Great White and essentially told the bar owners what they would do on stage. Is a verbal agreement enough right now in this case?</s>MOLL: Oh, absolutely. I mean there's clear and convincing evidence that the establishment, the bar owners, knew that pyrotechnics were going to be used that night. The question is is what, who made the decision to use that type of soundproofing that's flammable instead of flame retardant? Who was it that inspected the premises and failed to see that type of material used in the establishment and shut the place down because of a number of code violations that occurred?</s>HEMMER: Yes, quickly here, as you go forward here, what kind of time frame are you looking at right now?</s>MOLL: There is no time frame. We're surprised that we were contacted this early by the families.</s>HEMMER: You're surprised?</s>MOLL: We, yes, we recognize that there's a time of mourning for the victims, that there should be some time where they have to deal with the situation. But then again we recognize our duty to help them in this investigation.</s>HEMMER: Kenneth, thank you. Kenneth Moll, an attorney there in Chicago. Appreciate your time today.</s>MOLL: Thank you, Bill.</s>HEMMER: Next hour, again, as I mentioned, Ed McPherson, attorney for the band Great White, will be our guest. He will give us his take right now on where we stand today, Tuesday morning. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com Should be Taken>