According to the Associated Press, according to a new lawsuit, the construction of a luxurious building next to the Champlain Tower in Surfside, Florida triggered a collapse in June, resulting in 98 deaths.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the victims of Chamlin Towers South and their families on Tuesday night. It claims that the work done on the building next door damaged and destroyed a building that had already required major structural repairs.
The lawsuit stated that the Champlin Tower “is an old building that needs daily repairs and maintenance, but it didn’t become safe until the next door luxury high-rise apartment project began excavation and construction.”
The Champlin Building was undergoing a 40-year structural review and collapsed without warning in the early morning of June 24. Several federal and state investigations are now investigating the collapse and lawsuits by victims, family members, and apartment owners.
The lawsuit alleges that between 2016 and 2019, vibrations caused by excavation, piling and other construction work at the 87th Park weakened the shaking structure. After the developer purchased a small road separating the two, groundwater also collected from the new building to the basement of the Champlain Building.
“The collapse is completely preventable,” the lawsuit said.
According to a lawyer involved in the case, the lawsuit did not mention the specific amount of damages, but it could be as high as hundreds of millions of dollars.
For more reports from the Associated Press, please see below.
Photo by Al Diaz/Miami Herald/Associated Press
The nine defendants in the lawsuit include the developer of 87 Park, an engineering company, the Champlain Tannan Apartment Association and a Miami law firm.
The defendant denied that the construction of 87 Park was the cause of the collapse of the building. This 18-story building is located in Miami Beach, next to the Champlain Tower ruins in Surfside.
David B. Weinstein, a lawyer representing 8701 Collins Development LLC, said: “As recorded in many media reports, Champlain Towers South was improperly designed, improperly constructed, seriously underfunded, and insufficiently maintained and repaired.”
“We hope that a full review of the facts — and the ongoing investigation by NIST — will confirm our position,” Weinstein said in an email.
This latest 169-page complaint is a potential class action lawsuit that can represent all victims and their families. It was filed as part of an existing case in the Miami-Dade County Circuit Court, which also involved a planned sale of Champlainta’s property for the benefit of the victims.
The lead investigating agency is the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which recently estimated that its investigation may take up to two years.
