Station Nightclub Owners Fined

Four employees died from the West Warwick blaze, and the court decided that owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian flagrantly violated a law that required them to carry workers’ compensation insurance for almost three years.

A three-judge panel rejected the Derderians’ appeal of the $1,066,000 penalty, which was calculated by multiplying the daily maximum penalty of $1,000 by 1,066, the number of days they failed to have the insurance.

The brothers declared bankruptcy after the fire, but a federal bankruptcy judge found the fine amounted to a penalty and could not be discharged under the law. It was unclear whether the fine will be completely paid.

The 2003 fire resulted from pyrotechnics at a Great White performance.