Oakland agrees to settle last lawsuit from Ghost Ship fire that killed 36
Sydney Kalich
This aerial photo shows the remains of a fire ravaged warehouse on December 05, 2016 that killed at least 36 people in Oakland, California.
The death toll from a massive weekend fire at a warehouse near San Francisco shot up to 36, as authorities launched a criminal probe and pushed forth with recovery efforts.
/ AFP / Josh Edelson (Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, Calif. (NewsNation Now) — Oakland City Council on Tuesday agreed to pay $399,000 to settle the last lawsuit over a 2016 fire at an illegally converted warehouse dubbed the Ghost Ship that killed 36 people.
The city doesn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing in the settlement of a lawsuit by a dozen former residents, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The warehouse had been illegally converted into a residential space for artists and an event venue when it caught fire on Dec. 2, 2016, during an electronic music party.
OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 04: The burnt exterior of a warehouse in which a fire claimed the lives of at least thirty-three people is seen on December 4, 2016 in Oakland, California. The fire took place during a musical event late Friday night. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 05: The inside of a warehouse where a fire claimed the lives of at least thirty-six people is seen on December 5, 2016 in Oakland, California. The fire took place during a musical event late Friday night. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 05: People stop and look at a makeshift memorial near the site of a warehouse fire that has claimed the lives of at least thirty-six people on December 5, 2016 in Oakland, California. The fire took place during a musical event late Friday night. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 05: A man works with a power pole in front of a warehouse where a fire claimed the lives of at least thirty-six people on December 5, 2016 in Oakland, California. The fire took place during a musical event late Friday night. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 05: A man works with a power pole in front of a warehouse where a fire claimed the lives of at least thirty-six people on December 5, 2016 in Oakland, California. The fire took place during a musical event late Friday night. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)
This aerial photo shows the remains of a fire ravaged warehouse on December 05, 2016 that killed at least 36 people in Oakland, California.
The death toll from a massive weekend fire at a warehouse near San Francisco shot up to 36, as authorities launched a criminal probe and pushed forth with recovery efforts.
/ AFP / Josh Edelson (Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
A crane is used to lift wreckage as part of search efforts in a fire-ravaged warehouse on December 05, 2016 in Oakland, California.
The death toll from a massive weekend fire at a warehouse near San Francisco shot up to 36, as authorities launched a criminal probe and pushed forth with recovery efforts.
/ AFP / Josh Edelson (Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 05: Jeannette Genchis, 4, looks at a makeshift memorial with her family near the site of a warehouse fire that has claimed the lives of at least thirty-six people on December 5, 2016 in Oakland, California. The fire took place during a musical event late Friday night. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 05: People look at a makeshift memorial near the site of a warehouse fire that has claimed the lives of at least thirty-six people on December 5, 2016 in Oakland, California. The fire took place during a musical event late Friday night. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)
TOPSHOT – A man who only gave his name as “Yael” holds a parasol during a vigil honoring those who died in in a warehouse fire in Oakland, Calif. on December 05, 2016. More than 4,000 people came to offer condolences and mourn the more than 36 lives lost in the tragic fire.
More than 4,000 people came to offer condolences and mourn the more than 36 lives lost in the tragic fire. / AFP / Josh Edelson (Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Mourners gather during a vigil honoring those who died in a warehouse fire in Oakland, California on December 5, 2016.
The death toll from the massive weekend fire at a warehouse near San Francisco shot up to 36 on December 5 as authorities launched a criminal probe and pushed forth with recovery efforts. / AFP / Josh Edelson (Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 05: People hold up hands and candles to honor the dead at a vigil for the victims of a warehouse fire that has claimed the lives of at least thirty-six people on December 5, 2016 in Oakland, California. The fire took place during a musical event late Friday night. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 05: A man burns sage at a vigil for the victims of a warehouse fire that has claimed the lives of at least thirty-six people on December 5, 2016 in Oakland, California. The fire took place during a musical event late Friday night. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 05: A sign is seen at a vigil for the victims of a warehouse fire that has claimed the lives of at least thirty-six people on December 5, 2016 in Oakland, California. The fire took place during a musical event late Friday night. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)
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The building was packed with furniture, extension cords and other flammable material but had only two exits and no smoke detectors, fire alarms or sprinklers, authorities said.
In July, the City Council agreed to pay $32.7 million to settle lawsuits filed by the families of 32 victims and one survivor who suffered lifelong injuries.
$9 million went to Sam Maxwell, who survived the blaze but “will live with severe, lifelong injuries and major medical expenses,” a city statement said.
The settlement is one of the largest in city history but Paul Matiasic, an attorney for five families, called it “insignificant.”
Tuesday’s settlement resolves the “last remaining claims” of lawsuits arising from the fire, Chief Assistant City Attorney Maria Bee said in a statement.
The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined, although some lawsuits said there were serious electrical problems with the building.
Prosecutors charged Derick Almena, the master tenant on the warehouse lease, with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter, arguing that he was criminally negligent when he converted and sublet the space. A judge declared a mistrial last fall. Almena is awaiting retrial.
Almena’s attorneys argued city workers were to blame for not raising concerns about fire hazards in the warehouse. City officials had said the building hadn’t been inspected for three decades, and when inspectors did visit the site in November 2016, they were unable to enter to investigate a report of illegal construction.
A co-defendant, Max Harris, was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter charges last year and no longer lives in the state.
The building’s owner, Chor Ng, wasn’t charged with a crime.
In December 2019, a TV series about the deadly fire was scrapped because of pushback from friends and families of the victims.
The Associated Press and NewsNation affiliate KRON contributed to this report.
