The operators of Gabriel House assisted living facility in Fall River, where 10 people died as a result of a historically catastrophic fire and 30 people were injured, had no liability insurance on the property protecting the residents in case of bodily injury or wrongful death.

Presiding before a room of about 20 attorneys in Bristol County Superior Court, Judge Raffi Yessayan spoke plainly.

“How do you conceive of a building with 70 elderly people in it and not have any liability insurance?” Yessayan told an attorney for Gabriel House owner Dennis Etzkorn.

The cadre of attorneys attending a special hearing on Wednesday, Dec. 17, represented the 11 plaintiffs suing Gabriel Care LLC — including residents who were burned out of their apartments and the estates of three who died — attorneys for Etzkorn and Karen Etzkorn, and attorneys for inspection company Fire Systems Inc.

Read more at heraldnews.com.