FDNY Firefighter Widow's Suit for Movie Set Fire Allowed

The film company for Edward Norton's "Motherless Brooklyn" had asked for the wrongful death lawsuit by the estate of Lt. Michael Davidson to be dismissed.
March 15, 2019

A wrongful death lawsuit brought by the widow of an FDNY firefighter against a movie production company can go forward, a judge ruled Thursday.

Lt. Michael Davidson died during a five-alarm fire at a Harlem walk-up last March, the New York Post reports. The lawsuit by Davidson's estate claims Class 5 Inc.—the film company behind "Motherless Brooklyn," which is directed by Edward Norton—altered the building during filming and created a hazard that resulted in the firefighter's death in a blazed caused by a boiler in the basement.

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A lawyer for Class 5 had asked a Manhattan to dismiss the case, arguing that the lawsuit's claims hadn't connected the fire to the film company, which did nothing wrong, according to the Post.

"Motherless Brooklyn" is set to be released in November.

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