Manufacturer of suspected source of Marshall Square fire to pay as agreed
Sandy Hodson
The manufacturer of the heating and cooling unit suspected of causing the fire that destroyed the retirement community of Marshall Square has decided to pay up as agreed to in a settlement, plaintiffs' attorney Jack Long said.
An attorney for the Goodman Co. agreed to change the language in a settlement document that the attorneys representing 15 former Marshall Square residents perceived as an attempt to renege on the deal reached Dec. 1. The settlement was announced just days before trial was scheduled to begin in Columbia County Superior Court.
All of the other defendants in the lawsuits paid promptly except for Goodman, according to court documents filed to request a hearing. That hearing, which was scheduled for Wednesday, sought to enforce the agreement and to hold Goodman in contempt of court. It has been canceled.
The plaintiffs' attorneys believed the objectionable language could have held their clients liable if Goodman was sued by the other defendants – the owners and builders of the condo complex that burned on June 2, 2015.
The fire destroyed the condos of about 80 residents, caused the death of 91-year-old Dorothy Carpenter and trapped 82-year-old Rhetta Cadle in her condo for seven hours, according to earlier reports. The residents remained in their homes after the fire alarm sounded in the middle of the night because the owners and staff instructed them to "shelter in place."
According to a federal complaint filed against Goodman in Texas, the company knew the heating and cooling units like the one installed at Marshall Square was subject to overheating since 2008. The company settled for $5.55 million although it admitted no liability, according to an earlier report.
Reach Sandy Hodson at (706) 823-3226
or sandy.hodson@augustachronicle.com.