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May 16, 2008 3:42 pm US/Central

Court Rules Chicago Not Liable In E2 Stampede

CHICAGO (AP) ― A state appellate court says the city of Chicago can't be held liable for a 2003 nightclub stampede that killed 21 people.

A three-judge panel ruled Friday that the "plaintiffs' attempt to turn allegations concerning the city's failure to act into a course of direct action is not persuasive."

Family of victims filed numerous lawsuits alleging city officials didn't keep up building codes at the E2 nightclub and authorities mishandled rescue efforts.

Authorities say the stampede started after someone used pepper spray to break up a fight on the club's second floor. That sent people running down narrow stairs to an exit and their bodies piled up behind a door they couldn't open.

Messages for a city law department spokeswoman and an attorney representing victims' families were not immediately returned.

(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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