Families of victims of the condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida, have agreed to a $997million settlement for loss of life and property.
The settlement unveiled in a court hearing on Wednesday includes insurance companies, developers and defendants, reported. It is pending final approval.
It comes six weeks before the one-year anniversary of the Champlain Towers South collapse on June 24.
The 12-story condo near Miami Beach partially collapsed suddenly, and crews searched the rubble for survivors and victims for more than a month. It 98 people and is considered one of the deadliest accidental building collapses ever to occur in the US.
‘Our clients are a victim of a tragedy. If you lost a loved one no amount of money (is enough),’ said an attorney for the plaintiffs, Harley Tropin. ‘But the clients are pleased with this recovery. Really pleased.’
Judge Michael Hanzman of the Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County had previously approved a smaller settlement of $83million to be shared among condo unit owners for property loss.
However, the settlement grew after victims’ attorneys, contractors and consultants sued by the survivors, and developers of the luxury Eighty Seven Park building next door, joined the case.
‘I’m shocked by this result – I think it’s fantastic,’ Hanzman said. ‘This is a recovery that is far in excess of what I had anticipated.’
The settlement could exceed $1billion if an agreement is reached with a remaining company, lawyers said.
Both sides had hoped to resolve the case by the one-year anniversary of the collapse, Hanzman said.
‘We have gotten $997million in proposed settlements before you – and it could be a billion before the end of the week,’ Tropin told the . ‘We will be done. The money will be distributed. These victims will get some measure of relief.’
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