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."
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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
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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.