Tentative Deal Details an $83M Settlement for Surfside Condo Collapse Losses

Last Friday, a tentative deal was announced regarding payment for victims who suffered economic losses due to the 2021 condo collapse in Surfside, Florida. The deal which has yet to be put in writing would pay out $83 million to victims who suffered economic losses including the value of their condo unit and other personal property.

News of the agreement was announced at a hearing before Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman. Judge Hanzman is the same judge presiding over other lawsuits filed after the condo collapsed last June. Hanzman called the tentative agreement “promising news” adding, “We’ll see how it plays out” and that there was a strong possibility that all parties would be avoiding a “drawn-out legal battle.”

The deal was reached in a mediation session and would allow victims who were in on the original lawsuit to collect on whatever other funds are recovered. This includes funds from the sale of the land, insurance policies, or other claims against third parties. Individuals who owned a unit in the complex may also be allowed to opt-out or object to the proposed allocation of the funds as well.

In Florida, the law stipulates that if damages against an association go above its liability insurance coverage, then the owners of a unit can be ordered to pay off any unfunded judgments up to the value of the unit. These judgments are what are called “an assessment.” In the case of the Surfside condo collapse, the insurance liability coverage is $18 million.

As part of this tentative deal, the proposed settlement would allow the individual owners of the units to divide the $83 million amongst themselves. The relative value of the units will be taken into consideration when the money is divided. However, upon the division of the money, owners will not be subject to the assessment, no matter how much personal injury or wrongful death damages the owners are ultimately given.

If approved, the settlement poses an opportunity to close the chapter in what has been a heartbreaking and tragic loss of life for the state. While the details sound promising to some, many survivors of the collapse have begun voicing their concerns and disapproval of the settlement details.

One survivor, Steve Rosenthal, expressed his frustration with the Miami Herald over the weekend. “We are being penalized for surviving,” Rosenthal, who was rescued from a unit that was later demolished, explained. “They are going to ruin our lives twice.”

Rosenthal and other surviving owners have expressed their frustration that the settlement would offer them less compensation than what their units were originally worth. Another survivor, Raysa Rodriguez, details that she expects to receive a settlement payout of $443,000, though her condo unit would have sold for roughly $700,000. “The process was a farce,” Rodriguez explains. “We are getting screwed and it is not right.”

The Surfside condo collapsed in late June, claiming the lives of 98 individuals, many of whom were elderly residents who sought out the condominium as a place for retirement. A probe into the condo collapse is underway by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. However, their investigation is still in its early stages and will likely take over two years to complete.