During a routine status conference in a Florida courtroom on Wednesday, a nearly $1 billion settlement was reached in the shocking collapse of a Miami Beach-area condo complex, local media reported.
Reports have detailed that a $997 million settlement was announced by lawyers involved in the class-action lawsuit that represented tenants of the collapsed Surfside beachside complex. As part of the settlement, the firms will not admit to any wrongdoing.
Insurance companies, developers of a nearby building, and other defendants in the complex civil case are reported to be included in the settlement, which is still reportedly pending final approval.
Judge Michael Hanzman of the Miami-Dade Circuit was "speechless" when he heard about the sum in the settlement, per ABC News.
"That's incredible news," the judge is quoted as saying. "I'm shocked by this result - I think it's fantastic. This is a recovery that is far in excess of what I had anticipated."
The judge had granted a far lesser compensation of $83 million to be split among condo unit owners for their property losses before Wednesday's surprising announcement. The relatives of the deceased had not been compensated until now, but they would now receive a staggering $997 million.
However, according to NBC Miami, attorneys said that the pool of money meant to compensate victims will eventually climb to more than $1 billion.
The sum of $997 million reportedly does not include the minimum $120 million guaranteed opening bid in an auction of the oceanfront lot, set for May 24.
According to reports, the court hopes to get the entire settlement done by the one-year anniversary, with payments made in the fall.
On July 26, 2021, more than a month after the collapse and a large search and rescue operations that turned into a recovery operation, the final victim's remains were identified, according to local authorities. Families, longstanding Surfside residents, and visitors staying in the building were among the dead, who ranged in age from young children to senior couples.
The collapsed Champlain Condominium Towers South were completed in 1981. When the building came falling down, it was in the middle of a county-mandated inspection for commercial and residential buildings 40 years after they were built.