MIAMI — Owners of the condominiums that were destroyed in the Champlain Towers South collapse have been offered a compromise agreement to settle their property loss claims for a total of $83 million, their lawyers said during a court hearing Friday.
Each surviving owner or the heirs of those who died in the 136-unit building would receive an average of $610,294 that would vary according to the size of the condo. Details on the exact allocation still need to be decided as the compromise was just hammered out on Thursday night, lawyers told Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Michael Hanzman, who is overseeing the lawsuits arising from the collapse of the 13-story tower in Surfside that killed 98 people on June 24.
“I know it had to be a stressful, heated negotiation. Emotions are very high in this case,” Hanzman said. “I’m not pre-judging if this is a good settlement or a bad settlement. It’s promising and I’m sure there will be a number of opinions on it.”
If owners agree to the settlement, they would be entitled to their share of the $83 million and would be released from any possible liability claims that could be made against them under a state law that allows condo owners to be assessed damages up to the value of their unit if their condo association doesn’t have enough insurance to cover claims.
In return, owners who survived the collapse would agree to exit a class-action lawsuit that could yield millions if it goes to trial or is settled. Heirs of owners who died would remain in the lawsuit seeking compensation for wrongful death “and would receive the balance of any funds from the sale of the property, insurance and damages,” attorney Judd Rosen said.
Surviving owners are weighing whether to take their cut of the $83 million and leave the case or stay in it and, as Hanzman said, “take their chances on getting zero in a drawn-out legal battle” with the risk of being held liable for the unsafe state of the building.
“I think it’s an egregious deal for us,” said Steve Rosenthal, 72, who was rescued from a unit that remained standing and was later demolished. “We lost everything and now you’re trying to scare us into taking this offer by saying you’ll assess us when we did nothing wrong. At this point it’s all about the heirs, who are going to be multi-millionaires.
“We are being penalized for surviving. They are going to ruin our lives twice.”
Rosenthal’s unit in the oceanfront building was appraised at $735,000 in 2018 and he believes he could have sold it last year for $850,000. He would receive $591,000 in the settlement. Since he moved into an apartment and bought furniture, clothes, “even salt and pepper shakers,” home and rental prices in South Florida have soared.
“We could never afford to return to Surfside,” he said. “I have to hope they build affordable housing in the Everglades.”
In October, Hanzman appointed Miami lawyer Bruce Greer to mediate how to split the money and “avoid an allocation fight between property owners and families who lost loved ones.” But Greer’s first attempt failed, and he cited the intractability of extreme factions on the two sides of the dispute. At an 11-hour session on Feb. 4, they were able to find some common ground.
The property on which Champlain South sat is expected to sell for at least $120 million at auction. Insurance on the building is worth nearly $50 million. But the building itself was appraised at only $95 million and lawyers involved in the mediation between surviving owners and heirs eventually arrived at that figure, said owners who attended the lone mediation session they were invited to participate in last week. About $15 million was subtracted for the cost of the renovation of the building that was to commence last summer. Then, when they hit an impasse at the $80 million number, it was negotiated up to $83 million on Thursday.
Raysa Rodriguez, a member of the owners’ mediation committee, said she and many of her neighbors are disappointed they will not receive the full value of their units and belongings. She estimates she would receive $443,000 in the settlement and that her unit could have sold for $700,000.
“The process was a farce,” she said. “They want us out of the case so we’re not around to see the big numbers with the property sale and the damages. It’s been a faction of people on the wrongful death side — some are relatives of the renters and visitors who didn’t even own there — and their lawyers who have pushed to low-ball us and scare us. It’s called greed.”
They hope to ask Hanzman to raise the total amount. Hanzman said he will schedule a hearing to take input.
“With $400,000 now you can’t buy squat,” Rodriguez said. “And there’s not enough money in the world to pay me for the horror I went through that night.”
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