Ghost Ship Warehouse Fire Lawsuit Leads To $32.7M Settlement

Ghost Ship Warehouse Fire Lawsuit Leads To $32.7M Settlement

Introduction

A 2016 lawsuit filed over a disastrous Ghost Ship warehouse fire has been settled for $32.7 million by the city of Oakland. According to the court records, the incident happened on December 2, 2016, when an illegal music party was going on inside the cluttered 10,000-square-foot warehouse in Oakland’s Fruitvale district. 36 people lost their lives in the warehouse fire. The settlement was authorized by the Oakland City Council on behalf of 32 of the 36 people. $23.5 million will be allocated to the families of the fire victims who lost their lives, and $9.2 million will be given to a plaintiff who survived the fire but suffered severe lifelong injuries and major medical expenses. Last September, a criminal trial against Ghost Ship master tenant and co-defendant, the warehouse’s artistic director, ended with jurors deadlocked 10-2 in favor of convicting the tenant and acquitting the director of all charges. The tenant is charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter for the fire. The retrial of the criminal case against him is scheduled to begin in October 2020.