Plaintiffs’ representatives in the class action resulting from the deadly collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo complex in June of last year have given preliminary approval to a $1.02 billion settlement.
The details of the settlement to resolve the tragedy that killed 98 people in Surfside were released May 27 in the 11th Judicial Circuit in Miami. The preliminary agreement has also been approved by Judge Michael A. Hanzman.
“We are pleased to have finalized the settlements reached with more than two dozen parties and their insurers,” Rachel Furst and Harley Tropin, who co-chair the attorney group representing the victims’ families, told the Florida Record in an email. “This result will bring more than $1 billion to the victims of the Surfside tragedy.”
They singled out others involved in resolving the litigation who worked to ensure that plaintiffs would receive timely compensation.
“We are grateful to Judge Hanzman, who fast-tracked this case to get it resolved in record time,” Furst and Tropin said. “We also recognize the efforts of the receiver Michael Goldberg and the mediator Bruce Greer and all of the members of the plaintiffs steering committee who worked tirelessly on this matter.”
The compensation will go to families of those who were killed, condo owners who suffered economic losses, those who sustained injuries during the collapse and demolition, and other claimants. The parties who paid into the settlement fund include insurance companies, the condo association, developers and the town of Surfside.
Under the terms of the agreement, defendants cannot be held liable or sued again for issues arising out of the building collapse.
“Although it is very likely (if not certain) that, given the catastrophic damages in this matter, class members will receive something less than 100% of their claimed damages, courts routinely hold that settlements providing the class with even a small portion of the recovery sought in litigation are reasonable, considering the attendant risks of litigation,” the plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary approval of the settlement states.
The court sought to provide victims’ families with an agreement for compensation by the first-year anniversary of the nighttime collapse of the 12-story structure on June 24, 2021.
“More than two dozen potentially liable parties have agreed to an unprecedented settlement for an unprecedented event,” the plaintiffs’ motion for approval says.