$5M Lawsuit Filed in North Dakota Arena Fire

The owners of the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D., have filed a $5 million lawsuit over a fire in the building last summer.

The complaint filed by Arena Holdings Charitable and RE Arena, Inc., accuses Harman Professional, Inc., and Harman International Industries of negligence.

The plaintiffs say the fire originated in a speaker after it became “improperly energized” by a direct electrical current from the amplifier.

Harman denies the allegations and says any damages to the plaintiffs were the result of “their own negligence, misuse of product, assumption of risk or other fault.”

The fire happened on July 3, 2011. Arena officials said at the time that no events were affected.