News Release – October 13, 2009

Stutman team settles massive Riverwalk fire litigation.

The settlement was jointly announced Oct. 8, 2009, by the Law Offices of Robert A. Stutman, which represented the insurance carriers; Saltz Mongeluzzi Barrett & Bendesky PC (SMBB), interim lead counsel for the plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit, and attorneys for the defendants. The $36.25 million settlement concludes all outstanding litigation on behalf of the fire victims, the owners of the building destroyed by fire and the insurance companies who provided coverage to many of the tenants and businesses at Riverwalk.

The Law Office of Robert A. Stutman represented USAA, Travelers, State Farm, Nationwide, Harleysville, Liberty Mutual and Donegal. The Stutman firm also served as Court-appointed Liaison Counsel for all other insurance companies that insured tenants and businesses at Riverwalk, including Allstate, Amica, Chubb, Encompass, Erie, Franklin Mutual, Hartford, Home Site, National Surety and Utica.

Recognizing early on that a class action would be filed, and that the Stutman firm needed to work with counsel for the class-action suit for the benefit of the insurance carriers, Robert A. Stutman negotiated a partnership with SMBB, the firm planning to file a class action lawsuit, within days after the fire. Stutman did not want clients to suffer the same fate that befell insurance companies in the Bridgeport Class Action litigation. The Bridgeport fire, which occurred several years ago, caused tens of millions of dollars of damage to an industrial business park in Montgomery County, PA. A class action was filed on behalf of the businesses that incurred uninsured losses, and ultimately the subrogated insurance carriers were forced to become members of the class, and hence represented by class counsel.

Partnering with SMBB combined the Sutman firm’s knowledge of how to prosecute a fire case with a successful strategy to keep insurers “at the table” in the lawsuit and during settlement negotiations, helping to protect insurance carriers’ interests. The former residents of the apartment complex, located along the Schuylkill River, and their insurance companies filed complaints that alleged negligence on the part of workers employed by Cavan Construction of Aston, Delaware County. Cavan was named as a defendant along with others responsible for roles in the construction, management and development of the complex.

It was alleged in the complaints that reckless use of a welder's torch by Cavan's workers initially started the inferno at the Stables at Millennium apartment building still under construction nearby. A chain reaction caused the fire to jump to the neighboring, occupied Riverwalk buildings. Said Stutman, “This settlement occurred because of early investigative actions taken by our firm and SMBB within days after the blaze was extinguished. Our experts determined the cause of the fire, and the necessary evidence was retained so that we would be able to prove our case in court. The defendants knew we could prove our case in court, and that’s why this case settled.”

The Stutman firm has represented major insurance companies on large fire losses and mass torts throughout the country, including the 2007 California wildfires, a $50 million refrigeration plant fire in Kentucky, and the catastrophic fire which destroyed the “White Building” at 12th and Samson Streets in Philadelphia.