Families of eight of the nine Charleston firefighters who died in the 2007 Sofa Super Store blaze have reached a partial settlement with several of the companies they claimed were negligent, according to The Post and Courier.
From a pool of some 30 companies, all but about four have agreed to settlements totaling more than $1.2 million, the report said. Larry Richter, an attorney for several of the families, told the newspaper that figure was closer to $1.5 million.
Companies that settled include several furniture manufacturers whose products were sold at the store.
Attorneys said that the settlement would bring to total that companies have agreed to pay the families to $8.4 million.
The settlement money will go to the families of Assistant Engineer Michael French; Captains Mike Benke, William "Billy" Hutchinson and Louis Mulkey; Engineer Brad Baity; and Firefighters Melvin Champaign, James "Earl" Drayton and Brandon Thompson.
Engineer Mark Kelsey also died in the June 18 blaze, but no lawsuits have been filed on his behalf.
The suits alleged that the manufacturers failed to warn the store that the products contain highly flammable polyurethane foam.
The remaining defendants include the Sofa Super Store itself and its operators, the Goldstein Family Limited Partnership.
Attorneys are continuing their efforts to resolve the case and will be prepared to go to trial soon if those efforts fail, Richter said.
