The parties involved in a lawsuit against The Pyramid apartments’ past and present owners and managers are in active settlement negotiations and are prepared to settle the case under the right circumstances, a local attorney says.

One of the original plaintiffs has settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

Carbondale attorney John D. Alleman, who represents two people injured in the Dec. 6, 1992, arson, said that if the parties cannot agree on a settlement, the case will go to trial.

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The suit was filed Dec. 21, 1992.

At this time we’re devoting our energy to settling and resolving the case without having a trial, he said.

Everybody is prepared to settle this case under the right circumstances, and that’s what we’re trying to explore what is the right circumstance for each plaintiff and defendant.

Alleman said there was a settlement conference several weeks ago, and attorneys on both sides are still talking. He said that if the case is going to be settled, it will be within the next 90 days. If it goes to trial, Alleman said it probably would be within a year.

Five students died in the fire, and eight were injured. Five of the survivors are suing, alleging negligence.

The plaintiffs in the consolidated case are Gergana Zlaveta, Simona Dimitrova, Sylvia Camacho, Amit Singh and Chanin Heid Birkhahn. All are represented by Southern Illinois attorneys.

Alleman is representing Zlaveta and Dimitrova, who suffered serious injuries when they jumped from a third-floor window onto concrete to escape the blaze.

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Dimitrova suffered a broken pelvis and ankle, a fractured jaw, internal injuries and several broken teeth. She walks with a limp and will at some point undergo hip-replacement surgery.

Zlaveta suffered a broken wrist and a skull fracture. Her teeth were knocked out, and she suffers sinus and breathing problems.

The defendants are Bonnie Owen Realty Inc., Sun King Realty, Arthur Realty Corp., The Pyramids and Egyptian of Carbondale Inc., Herman Horowitz and Israel Jakobovich.

Attorneys for the defendants could not be reached for comment.

One of the lawsuits has been settled.

G. Patrick Murphy, who represented Masako Toyota Shin, the administrator of the estate of fire victim Kimiko Ajioka, said the case was settled within the last 60 days. Murphy would not comment on the amount of the settlement.

It was a long, difficult and hotly contested case, Murphy said.

Murphy said the cases were bogged down in the judicial process because of litigation and requests by attorneys for police to release evidence.

The question of the insurance coverage had to be litigated and was appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court, he said. The plaintiffs were successful in binding the defendants’ insurance company.

There also was a dispute as to whether the plaintiffs should be allowed access to evidence obtained by police.

Releasing that information was not in the best interest of the case, Carbondale Police Chief Don Strom said. We believe that some of that information is information only the person who started the fire would know.

In April, after three years of motions and delay, Judge William Schwartz ordered the city, under threat of contempt, to provide all evidence to the attorneys.

Attorneys, who have since viewed the evidence, are not allowed to discuss the evidence.

Alleman would not say how much the remaining plaintiffs are seeking, but said it is a significant amount.

There has not been an offer made, he said. I expect that when an offer is made, there’ll be offers made to all the plaintiffs at one time.

The amended complaint, filed on July 14, states, Before and at the time the fire started, the defendants failed to exercise ordinary care for the safety of the plaintiffs.

We think that they violated their own rules and regulations concerning keeping the hallways clear of debris and other items, Alleman said. It’s in their lease that they’re in control of the common part of the building.

It’s our contention that this fire started in a pile of clothes or laundry that was left outside of the door of one of the rooms. I cannot tell you what evidence we would present to prove that point; all I can tell you is that if we put it into our complaint, we can prove it.

The complaint also alleges the defendants failed to exercise a high degree of care for each plaintiff’s safety by failing to provide a sprinkler system in the building’s hallways and common areas, failing to provide outside fire escapes on the third floor of the building and failing to provide a security guard on the date of the fire to patrol the common areas and monitor the hallways.

The defendants have filed documents challenging some of the factual allegations in the complaint and want the plaintiffs to be more specific in some of the allegations.

The defendants are asking the court to make us prove how the fire started and who started it, Alleman said. We have not alleged that we know who or how the fire started, and I don’t think that’s something we have to prove. All we have to prove is there was a fire.

Alleman said a common point in the attorneys’ discussions has been that no arrests have been made in the arson.

Our clients, who are foreigners, are somewhat disillusioned that they (police) haven’t been able to apprehend anybody, he said.

Alleman said attorneys have spent a great deal of time on the lawsuit, and everyone is eager to see it conclude.

It’s a tragedy that has transcended this community for five years, he said. In that respect, it’s time we move forward and get this case settled or tried. There’re injured people who would like to get this over with. The people who were in this fire will always be haunted by it.