Portland landlord Gregory Nisbet has been acquitted of manslaughter in the deaths of six people who died in a fire at his Noyes Street property two years ago. Nisbet was also cleared of all misdemeanor code violations except one. Though the verdict is a disappointment to families and prosecutors, some hope that the case will increase building safety in the future.
For Gregory Nisbet to be found guilty of manslaughter, prosecutors had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his negligence caused the deaths of the six young adults who perished at his property after a discarded cigarette butt on the front porch ignited a fire on November 1st, 2014. Superior Court Justice Thomas Warren explained in his verdict that while he did not find Nisbet entirely blameless.
“The court cannot find that it is almost certainly true that the deceased occupants would have been able to survive if there had been no conduct by defendant that was either reckless or criminally negligent,” Warren says.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that Nesbit’s Noyes Street property was a death trap, with inoperable smoke alarms, a blocked stairwell, and third floor windows that were too small to provide a secondary exit. They also argued that the duplex classified not as a single family dwelling, but as a rooming house, which has to meet higher safety standards. Justice Warren disagreed.
“Under the fire code, as it applies in Portland, a group of friends or acquaintances can rent a dwelling unit together and be considered to be a family, allowing the dwelling unit to continue to qualify as a one family dwelling,” he says.
Warren did, however, find Nisbet guilty on one misdemeanor code violation for the third floor windows that were too small. But that was of little consolation to friends and family, some of whom walked out while Justice Warren read his verdict. Outside the courtroom, friends and family called the verdict “ridiculous,” but declined reporters’ request for comment. Prosecuting attorney Bud Ellis, an assistant DA, says he’s disappointed but hopes that the trial will at least result in improved safety.
“I’m utterly convinced that this is not the only building around that doesn’t satisfy the safety code and our ardent hope is that a lot more is done as a result of this, so this kind of tragedy doesn’t happen again,” Ellis says.
Nisbet’s attorney, Matthew Nichols, says he’s already witnessed a shift, from the sheer volume of phone calls he’s received from landlords ever since the fire occurred two years ago.
“If this case ̬ this prosecution ̬ has not at least had the effect of having every single landlord reexamine their policies and practices, I don’t know what will,” Nichols says.
Brit Vitalius, the president of the Southern Maine Landlord Association, agrees that the trial ̬ which would have set a precedent in Maine if Nisbet had been found criminally guilty of manslaughter ̬ has pushed safety to the top of landlords’ minds.
“These charges are a terrifying wake up call for landlords, that contemplate going to jail for 30 years,” Vitalius says.
Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling and City Manager Jon Jennings expressed their condolences to families in a written statement. Jennings said safety is a top priority for the city, and that the Office of Housing Safety, which was created in response to the fire, has registered more than 18,000 rental units, proactively inspected more than 800 properties, and investigated approximately 150 complaints.
Nisbet, who will have a sentencing hearing scheduled in the coming weeks, faces up to 180 days in jail and a thousand dollar fine for the misdemeanor charge. But his attorney Matthew Nichols says the trial will have a lasting effect on his client.
“Nothing is going to alleviate the tragic nature of this and the pain and sorrow that Greg Nisbet is feeling,” Nichols says. “That’s going to be with him for the rest of his life.”
Nisbet is also facing civil lawsuits by victims’ families.
