JURY AWARDS $2M FOR LAW FIRM HIT BY WALL COLLAPSE

WEST PALM BEACH — When the wall came tumbling down, Bill Price’s West Palm Beach law firm found its roof under thousands of pounds of brick from the building next door and then the weight of two years of litigation.

Monday finally brought relief for Price, whose one-story building at 320 Fern St. was smashed by falling brick from the six-story Alexander Lofts on March 3, 2016, and by a second cascade the next

month. After a five-day trial, a six-person jury awarded William W. Price P.A. and Five Solas LLC, Price’s company that owns the building, just over $1.5 million in damages, plus approximately $500,000 in costs.

Price sought damages for rebuilding, business losses, emergency costs, the cost of renting temporary space nearby and

for the permanent reduction in value of the building due to the alleged stigma of media coverage of the collapse.

The jury rejected the $385,000 sought for the stigma and trimmed the business loss request but overall came out heavily in Price’s favor.

“The jury was very focused and paid close attention to the testimony and came back with a very fair and just result that makes my client whole,” said Gregory S. Weiss, who tried the case for Price.

Todd Ehrenreich, attorney for Alexander owner Sodix Fern LLC and property manager RAM Realty Services, could not be reached immediately after the trial.

Four office workers suffered minor injuries when bricks went through the roof, leaving the law building with tarp-covered holes and a sodden interior in the 87 days before the city allowed anyone back inside. City officials attributed the collapse to rusted metal tie rods that attached the decades-old brick facade to the structure.

The 90-year-old downtown apartment building at 326 Fern, once a Bell South headquarters, has been repaired, its east wall rebricked and its multistory, communication-themed mural repainted. But the law office beside it remains vacant.

There was no question at trial that the Lofts owner and manager were liable. That was determined earlier. The only issue was how much they should pay.

Weiss estimated that, to make Price whole, it would cost $302,400 for lost rent, $18,711 for emergency costs, $13,995 for preconstruction costs and $94,380 for architects. In addition to that, the jury awarded Price $943,829 for construction costs, a bit less than asked for, and $270,395 for lost law firm business.

Another hearing will be held to determine costs and possible attorney fees, Weiss said.

LANNIS WATERS / THE PALM BEACH POST When the collapse of a portion of a wall at Alexander Lofts on Fern Street sent bricks tumbling onto the roof of William W. Price’s law offices on the morning of March 3, 2016, the weight of two years of litigation would follow. A jury on Monday decided the law firm was due $2 million.

LANNIS WATERS / THE PALM BEACH POST Firefighters maneuver through hundreds of bricks that fell onto the William W. Price law offices on March 3, 2016, wrecking the building and resulting in what a jury determined Monday was more than $1.5 million in damages.