Lawyers reached a nearly $1 billion settlement in the Miami Beach-area condo collapse that killed nearly 100 people in June 2021.
The $997 million settlement in the class-action lawsuit was announced May 11 and produced a rather unexpected outcome, according to ABC News. A lead attorney described the settlement as the largest from a single incident in U.S. history.
The judge handling the case was “speechless” when hearing of the settlement’s outcome.
“I’m shocked by this result – I think it’s fantastic,” Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman told the courtroom. “This is a recovery that is far in excess of what I had anticipated.”
The 12-story residential building collapsed early in the morning of June 24 in Surfside, Florida, destroying 55 of the 136 oceanfront’s 136 units.
The lawsuit argued that the poor construction and lack of maintenance in the affected building, coupled with the construction of a new complex next door, contributed to the collapse that killed 98 people.
Dave Lubach is Managing Editor, Facility Group.
