MIAMI — 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 Wednesday.
A settlement of $997 million was announced during a conference Wednesday.
The 12-story Champlain Towers South condiminium collapsed abruptly in the early-morning hours of June 24, almost instantly destroying dozens of individual condo units and burying victims under tons of rubble. Rescuers spent weeks carefully digging through mountains of concrete, first to find survivors and later to recover the remains of those who died. A total of 98 people were killed.
According to a report fromThe New York Times, the settlement is still pending final approval. Those receiving compensation include victims, family of victims, insurance companies, developers of an adjacent building and other defendants in the civil case.
Upon learning the settlement had been worked out, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman made no effort to hide how pleased he was.
“I’m speechless,” the judge said. “That’s incredible news.”
He also told the courtroom, “I’m shocked by this result — I think it’s fantastic…This is a recovery that is far in excess of what I had anticipated.”
In late March, a settlement of $83 million for condo unit owners was approved by Hanzman.
Litigation had been moving slowly as the first anniversary approaches. Final approval may be made within the next month.
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