$997M settlement reached in Surfside condo collapse lawsuit, lawyer says

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – A nearly $1 billion tentative settlement has been reached in a class-action lawsuit brought by families of victims and survivors of last June’s condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida, an attorney said.

Harley S. Tropin announced the $997 million settlement at a hearing Wednesday before Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Michael Hanzman. Pending approval, the settlement involves insurance companies, developers of an adjacent building and other defendants.

This year, Hanzman had approved an $83 million settlement to compensate people who suffered economic losses such as condominium units and personal property.

The 12-story Champlain Towers South collapsed in the early hours of June 24, destroying dozens of individual units and burying victims under tons of rubble. Rescuers spent weeks digging through mountains of concrete, first to find survivors and later to recover bodies. Ninety-eight people died.

The main lawsuit, filed on behalf of Champlain Towers South victims and family members, contends that work on the adjacent Eighty Seven Park tower destabilized the Champlain Towers building, which was in dire need of structural repair. Champlain Towers was in the midst of its 40-year structural review when it partially crumbled.

The collapse triggered lawsuits from victims, families and condo owners as well as state and federal investigations. In December, a Florida grand jury issued a lengthy list of recommendations aimed at preventing another condominium collapse, including earlier and more frequent inspections and better waterproofing.

The building was in Surfside, just north of Miami Beach. The enclave comprises a mix of older homes and condos similar to the collapsed tower built decades ago for the middle class and recently erected luxury condos drawing the wealthy. That includes Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, who live about a block north of the collapsed condo.