Residents who were displaced due to a fire at a Miami Gardens condominium over a month ago have taken their grievances to court.

A class action lawsuit was filed Friday against the management company, condo association and board of directors of the New World Condominiums.

"Someone has to be accountable for this," said Shekita Whitfield, the plaintiff. "I mean we keep hearing that there was no insurance and this and that, but we are the victims here and we deserve help."

The complaint was also filed on "behalf of those similarly situated," meaning the nearly 200 residents and owners can decide if they want to be part of the class action lawsuit.

The complaint states the defendants saw this fire coming but ignored blatant signs that could have prevented it, such as the failure to address a number of fire code violations and failure to secure proper insurance.

"The complaint seeks damages in excess of $8.6 million," said attorney Yolanda Strader. "There is no way for us to know what the exact damages are. This is how the initial complaint was filed."

Residents and unit owners are filing a lawsuit after they were displaced due to a fire at a Miami Gardens condo complex. NBC 6’s Laura Rodriguez reports


As of Wednesday, about 20 former New World residents are still living at the Betty T. Ferguson recreation center. Some of them said they are in limbo.

As for cause of fire, that is still under investigation.