Tragic Berkeley family vows to fight on after settlement

THE family of one of the students who died in the Berkeley balcony collapse has vowed to continue their campaign for legislative change after a settlement was reached in court.

It was confirmed yesterday that the families of the six students who died and the seven who were seriously injured reached a court agreement against the corporate owner and the property manager of the building in Berkeley.

These latest settlements were made with BlackRock Realty Advisors, owners of the Liberty Gardens complex in Berkeley, as well as Greystar RS California Inc, the company that managed it. It is understood there is now just one company which has yet to settle.

The victims won a substantial settlement against most of the defendants, of which there are as many as 30, earlier this year. This latest settlement was made in recent days. A statement released last night said the ‘terms of the settlement are confidential’. The family of Ashley Donohoe – whose sister competed in this year’s Rose of Tralee – said they will battle on. The Donohoe family said the ‘most important factor of this settlement’ is that it will allow them to continue ‘their efforts in the legislature to avoid a tragedy like this from happening again’.

A statement from the firm Walkup, Melodia, Kelly and Schoenberger – which represented the seven injured survivors and five of the bereaved families – read that ‘wood rot developed in the balcony’s wooden support structure, which was enclosed by an unventilated stucco soffit.

‘Neither BlackRock nor Greystar discovered the wood rot during their inspections of the property. No-one contended that the victims were in any way responsible for what happened.’

Both aforementioned companies have now ‘adopted policies and procedures regarding the inspections of balconies on the properties that they own or manage on a regularly scheduled basis’. A statement from BlackRock said the company ‘extends its deepest sympathies to the victims and their families.

Olivia Burke, Eoghan Culligan, Lorcán Miller, Nick Shuster and Eimear Walsh – all 21 – lost their lives when the balcony collapsed in June 2015. Ashley Donohoe, 22, Olivia’s Irish-American cousin, also died.