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Lawyers: Nearly $1B tentative settlement with insurance companies, developers in Florida condo collapse

Harley S. Tropin represents the plaintiffs, announced settlement
Condominium Collapse Florida
Posted at 7:17 PM, May 11, 2022
and last updated 2022-05-12 08:17:52-04

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.

FILE - Rescue crews work at the site of the collapsed Champlain Towers South condo building after the remaining structure was demolished Sunday, in Surfside, Fla., Monday, July 5, 2021. 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, Fla., an attorney said Wednesday, May 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

“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.