Lawyers representing families of victims and survivors of the condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida, last June have told a judge that they've reached a nearly $1 billion tentative settlement.
Harley S. Tropin is a lawyer representing the plaintiffs. He announced the settlement during a hearing on Wednesday before Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Michael Hanzman. Still pending final approval, the settlement involves insurance companies, developers of an adjacent building and other defendants.
“I’m shocked by this result — I think it’s fantastic,” Hanzman said. “This is a recovery that is far in excess of what I had anticipated.”
Earlier this year, Hanzman had approved an $83 million settlement to compensate people who suffered economic losses such as condominium units and personal property, the Associated Press reported.
The 12-story building called the Champlain Towers South condominium collapsed suddenly in the early-morning hours on June 24 and almost instantly destroyed dozens of individual condo units, burying victims under tons of rubble. Rescuers worked for weeks digging through mountains of concrete to find survivors, then later to recover the remains of those who died. A total of 98 people were killed.
