Berkeley balcony collapse victims’ families OK deal
Nearly two years after a balcony collapsed during a 21st birthday party in Berkeley, killing six young people and injuring seven, the victims’ families reached a partial settlement Friday with the companies they deemed responsible.
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed by San Francisco lawyer Matthew Davis, who represented relatives of those killed, as well as survivors, in the 2015 tragedy at the Library Gardens apartment complex near the UC Berkeley campus.
“This settlement will never restore health or life but reflects an element of justice from the wrongdoers for the deaths and serious injuries caused by the tragedy,” Davis said in a statement.
Seven companies — Segue Construction, Northstate Plastering, R Brothers Waterproofing, Abacus Project Management, IRC Technologies, TCA Architects and LS Mason and Associates — agreed to the settlement, Davis said.
BlackRock, owner of Library Gardens, at 2020 Kittredge St., and the manager of the apartment complex, Greystar, did not settle, Davis said, adding that a trial date was set for early 2018 for both companies.
Representatives of BlackRock and Greystar did not immediately return requests for comment.
The lawsuit alleged that the builders of the apartment complex cut corners to save money and used substandard materials susceptible to dry rot and water damage.
The fifth-floor balcony collapsed during a birthday party on June 16, 2015, sending revelers plummeting to the ground.
In all, five 21-year-old visiting Irish students — Olivia Burke, Eoghan Culligan, Lorcan Miller, Niccolai Schuster and Eimear Walsh — were killed, along with Ashley Donohoe, 22, of Rohnert Park.
Last month, the California agency that regulates contractors revoked the license of the contractor that built the balcony, Segue Construction, of Pleasanton, which agreed to the terms of Friday’s settlement.
Though the company did not admit wrongdoing under the settlement, it agreed to not apply for license renewal until at least 2022.