Victims of deadly 2016 Tennessee fire will have another chance to pursue lawsuits

2025-04-20 08:27:49 source: category:Stocks

GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) — Victims of a deadly 2016 wildfire that began in Great Smoky Mountains National Park before it burned through a Tennessee tourist town will have another chance to seek compensation from the federal government.

Several lawsuits claim park employees failed to warn the city of Gatlinburg and its residents of the danger until it was too late. A federal judge last year dismissed the lawsuits, ruling that the plaintiffs were not specific enough in pre-lawsuit claims about what they were alleging.

On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated that ruling, sending the case back to the lower court.

The fire killed 14 people and caused an estimated $2 billion in losses, including about 2,500 buildings that were damaged or destroyed. The fire began on less than half an acre in a remote section of the park during the Thanksgiving holidays, when the park was minimally staffed.

More:Stocks

Recommend

Kansas City Chiefs CEO's Daughter Ava Hunt Hospitalized After Falling Down a Mountain 

Ava Hunt is on the mend. After the daughter of Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt fell down during

Jury begins weighing death penalty or life in prison for Pittsburgh synagogue shooter

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A jury is deliberating whether the man who killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synago

ESPN to name Doris Burke, Doc Rivers to NBA Finals coverage; Mark Jackson let go, per reports

ESPN is close to promoting Doris Burke to the NBA Finals crew and hiring Doc Rivers to replace Mark