The Latest: Companies respond to suit over Grenfell fire
FILE - In this June 14, 2017, file photo, a resident in a nearby building watches smoke rise from a building on fire in London. An American lawyer known for winning huge legal awards over deadly construction accidents plans to hold a news conference in Philadelphia on the 2017 apartment fire in London that killed 72 people. The BBC has reported that more than 100 people plan to join a product liability lawsuit targeting U.S. companies that make products used at the complex. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
The Latest on a lawsuit filed in the United States over a 2017 London high-rise fire that killed 72 (all times local):
2 p.m.
Two of the companies that are being sued by victims of a London high-rise fire that killed 72 have released statements expressing their "deepest sympathies" to those affected.
The Grenfell blaze started two years ago in an apartment refrigerator and raced up the side of the building. Nearly 250 relatives of victims and survivors filed suit Tuesday in Philadelphia against three companies that made products used in the building.
Whirlpool says in its statement that two investigations found "no evidence of any fault" with the refrigerator model in the apartment where the blaze began.
U.K.-based Celotex says it remains committed to working with British authorities. Celotex's parent company, Saint-Gobain, says it was surprised to see a lawsuit filed in the U.S. since the Celotex insulation referenced in the suit was manufactured and sold in the U.K.
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11:35 a.m.
A lawsuit filed in the United States says faulty building materials helped spread a fire at London's Grenfell Tower in 2017.
More than 200 relatives of victims and survivors joined the suit, which targets U.S. companies that made products used at the complex. It was filed in a state court in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
It would be up to a jury to decide how much money to award.
The blaze started in a refrigerator and raced up the side of the 24-story building two years ago June 14, killing 72 people.
The plaintiffs' lawyers say the exterior cladding was made of highly flammable material that can't be used in U.S. skyscrapers.
The suit names refrigerator maker Whirlpool, cladding manufacturer Arconic Inc. and insulation maker Celotex.
Messages seeking comment were emailed to all three companies.
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5:45 a.m.
An American lawyer known for winning huge legal awards over deadly construction accidents plans to hold a news conference in Philadelphia on the 2017 apartment fire in London that killed 72 people.
The BBC has reported that more than 100 people plan to join a product liability lawsuit targeting U.S. companies that make products used at the complex.
It's not clear if lawyer Robert Mongeluzzi plans to announce he's filing such a case, but he is set to speak Tuesday about the Grenfell Tower fire.
Thursday marks the two-year anniversary of the fire and the usual deadline to seek damages under U.S. law.
Mongeluzzi has helped clients win judgments for a 2015 Amtrak train derailment and for a 2013 Salvation Army store collapse.
He declined to comment Monday on the case.