The lawyers for the apartment owners of the building that collapsed in Surfside, Florida (USA), that caused the death of almost a hundred people, reached a “tentative” agreement by which they will distribute 83 million dollars among those who lost their homes, according to local media reports on Friday, February 11.
The mentioned sum would be divided between those who lost their properties in the collapse of the Champlain Towers South building, which occurred in June 2021 in Surfside, in Miami-Dade County, that partially collapsed in the middle of the night while its inhabitants slept.
The agreement, reached in the last hours in a mediation session, must still be approved by Judge Michael Hanzman, in charge of the case, who announced the agreement during a hearing on Friday, the NBC6 channel picked up.
Last January, Hanzman already set the trial for March 2023,
The 83 million dollars would be apportioned among apartment owners according to the relative value of each unit and would not be subject to assessmentregardless of how much is ultimately awarded in damages for death, negligence, and personal injury.
Experts try to explain how the domino effect collapse of the building in Miami Beach happened
However, wrongful death lawsuits by the families of the 98 people who died in the collapse will continue.
According to the aforementioned television channel, those who have filed wrongful death or personal injury claims will divide among themselves any other funds that are recovered, such as from the sale of the land, money from insurance or claims against third parties.
Thus, under the settlement announced today, any further funds recovered in this case beyond the $83 million would go to the wrongful death plaintiffs.
Safes found in rubble returned
This Friday it also transpired that the authorities have begun to return some 20 safes that were recovered from the rubble where the building was.
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said there is a private website set up to help families and survivors reclaim their belongings, Local 10 reported.
“It is painful for me to lack that and imagine how difficult it will be for the owners to recover their personal belongings. The whole process is painful. It’s tough,” Burkett said.
Collapse in Miami: 6 stories of the dozens of disappeared after the collapse of Surfside
The 12-storey building, built in 1981, it was in the middle of a recertification process, a study of structures and electricity required by law as it was a 40-year-old buildingwhen a part collapsed in the middle of the night and killed 98 people.
The rest of the structure was demolished on July 4, 2021 with explosive charges to facilitate the discovery of the victims’ bodies and prevent it from falling on rescuers.
In November of that same year, a lawsuit was filed alleging that the excavation and construction of an adjoining luxury building worsened serious structural defects that already existed in Champlain Towers South.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NITS) is the agency leading the federal investigation into the collapse, whose final report will be a key part of the process.
Judge Hanzman himself approved last October a contract for the sale of the lot where the Champlain Towers South was located for 120 million dollarsin order to set the minimum price for the public auction that will take place in 2022. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
