Contractor Will Testify In Lawsuit Filed By Father Of Girls Killed In Stamford Christmas Day Fire
HARTFORD, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The man who initially took the blame for starting a Christmas Day fire in Connecticut that killed five will testify in a wrongful death lawsuit.
Michael Borcina's lawyer said Thursday that Borcina will cooperate in the lawsuit filed by the children's father, Matthew Badger. The comments came after a hearing called by a judge after Borcina failed to turn over documents and appeared to go missing.
Badger sued Borcina, the city of Stamford and other contractors after the 2011 fire. Borcina settled for $5 million. Claims against the city and other defendants remain unresolved.
The 2011 fire in Stamford killed 7-year-old twins Grace and Sarah Badger, 9-year-old Lily Badger, and their maternal grandparents, Lomer and Pauline Johnson. The girls' mother, Madonna Badger, and Borcina were dating at the time and escaped the fire.
Borcina initially said he put a bag of fireplace ashes in a mudroom where the fire started. He later said the girls' mother put the ashes in the mudroom.
Borcina, who was renovating the $1.7 million Victorian home, was accused in the lawsuit of contributing with other defendants to make the house a "firetrap," including failing to install a smoke detection system during the construction.
"The girls died before they could escape the home, which had become a firetrap as a result of months of substandard construction leading up to the fire," according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also says city officials knew or should have known that Borcina served as the home's general contractor but didn't have a state home improvement contractor's license. Stamford officials previously denied any wrongdoing in connection with the fire.
As CBS2's Lou Young reported, Stamford complained that Borcina hadn't provided the records it needs for its defense and suggested that he had gone missing.
After a lengthy closed door session the judge in the case indicated that Borcina had not vanished.
"With respect to the issues surrounding Mr. Borcina's deposition, counsel I have worked on some details and he'll be available to be deposed," Judge Grant Miller said.
Borcina's attorney insisted that his client is available to give testimony in the suit against Stamford and isn't hiding.
"He's already sat through three days of testimony. He'll be available for a fourth," Richard Laney said.
A state prosecutor concluded in 2012 that no criminal charges should be filed.
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