Judgment ends litigation following 2012 tent collapse

A judge awarded more than $3 million to eight claimants seeking payment over a 2012 party tent collapse for which a jury had previously awarded a $5.2 million verdict.

The eight claimants — residents of Missouri, Oklahoma and Illinois — were joined as plaintiffs by Kilroy Was Here LLC, owners of the former downtown sports bar near Busch Stadium where one person died and more than 20 were injured following the tent collapse during a severe storm after a St. Louis Cardinals game.

The plaintiffs claimed that defendant Starr Indemnity & Liability failed to settle the multi-claimant lawsuit that was brought against Starr’s insured, Kilroy Was Here. The original settlement was reduced to $3.4 million after credit for prior settlements, said plaintiff’s attorney Todd Muchnick. His counterpart, defense attorney Gerald Greiman, declined to comment on his client’s behalf.

According to Muchnick, after the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld the initial verdicts and judgments, Starr paid its policy limits of $1 million, plus approximately $475,000 in accrued interest, leaving a remaining excess judgment of roughly $2.4 million.

Kilroy Was Here and its members then assigned their bad faith claim against Starr to the underlying plaintiffs in exchange for a covenant not to execute upon their personal assets, Muchnick said.

“After four years of contentious litigation, and within three weeks of the scheduled trial in the city of St. Louis, Starr filed a $3 million offer of judgment, which was accepted by the underlying plaintiffs/judgment creditors,” he said, with Starr also paying over $16,000 for taxable court costs.

RELATED:

Click to search for and submit your Verdicts & Settlements

Jury finds $5.2 million in damages in tent collapse case

$3.025 million judgment

Insurance

Venue: St. Louis Circuit Court

Case Number/Date: 1822-CC11663 /April 28, 2023

Judge: Scott Millikan

Plaintiff’s Experts: Ron Clifton, St. Charles (insurance); Gary Snodgrass, Pitzer Snodgrass, St. Louis (insurance)

Defendant’s Expert: Stephen Johnson, Atlanta (insurance)

Caption: Kilroy Was Here LLC, Arthur Randall and Brenda Randall, individually and as members of Kilroy Was Here LLC; and Janet Martinez, Kurt Volk, Kelly Hendricks Volk, John Desousa, Barbara Estivo, Jeff Maxvill, Tammy Hinds and Shelley Goodman v. Starr Indemnity & Liability Co.

Plaintiffs’ Attorneys: Todd Muchnick and Aaron Haber, Muchnick Haber Margolis, Clayton (for Martinez, Volk, Hendricks Volk, Desousa, Estivo and Maxvill); Brent Martin, St. Peters (for Hinds); Gregory Shevlin (for Goodman); David Zevan, Rachel Roman, Morgan Murphy and Anna Haber (for Kilroy Was Here and Randalls)

Defendant’s Attorney: Gerald Greiman, Spencer Fane, Clayton