The Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. has hired outside counsel to law firm to explore a clawback of money the state stands to lose amid the demise of video game company 38 Studios.
Max Wistow of Providence law firm Wistow & Barylick Inc., will lead the investigation. Wistow obtained a $176 million settlement for victims in the 2003 fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, in which 100 people died from a pyrotechnic malfunction at a rock concert.
“We will try to find out what happened, when it happened, who was involved and see if there’s a basis of action,” Wistow said.
38 Studios, founded by former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last month. The state is on the hook for a $75 million loan guarantee the RIEDC made in 2010 to entice Schilling to move the company to downtown Providence from Maynard, Mass.
