An estimated $750,000 in randomly
scattered cash that was recovered in the rubble of the
Surfside condo collapse will soon be driven in an armored
truck to Washington, D.C., and converted into a lump-sum
payment — courtesy of the Treasury Department for the
benefit of residents who lost the money in the summer
tragedy. That promising news was delivered Wednesday by the
receiver for the Champlain Towers South condo association to
a Miami-Dade Circuit judge who is overseeing legal matters,
including a class-action lawsuit, in the aftermath of the
136-unit building collapse in which nearly 100 people died.
|
The footage was released by the National Institute of Standards and Technology on the same day it announced the team that will conduct its five-pronged investigation of the disaster. |
More than likely, the
items, ranging from heirlooms to photographs to jewelry,
will be photographed and posted on a proprietary website so
that residents can click an item and claim it. “I do want
that process to move forward,” Hanzman told Goldberg.
Another attorney, Paul Singerman, who is handling legal
issues for the receiver, said that a confidential settlement
was reached with one of the insurers for the Champlain condo
association — though he could not disclose the amount.
Arch Specialty Insurance Company, based in New York, had
refused to pay out any insurance claims to the condo board
because the policy covered the period 2014 to 2018 — three
years before the Champlain tower collapsed on June 24, 2021.
But Singerman said a negotiated settlement was reached with
Arch based on the argument that some structural damage might
have occurred during the coverage period that eventually
contributed to the tower’s collapse. Judge Hanzman, who has
been trying to generate as much money from settlements
without litigation, called the confidential agreement a
“significant recovery” and “outstanding result,” without
disclosing the amount. So far, all of the Champlain condo
association’s current insurers voluntarily issued full
policy payments, totaling $30 million for property losses
and $19 million for personal injury coverage. Arch’s
undisclosed settlement will be added to that combined pot of
roughly $49 million. The biggest pot of money is expected to
come from the sale of the nearly two-acre oceanfront
property at 8777 Collins Ave. To date, a United Arab
Emirates developer has offered $120 million for the site,
but other bidders could offer more between now and an
auction in February. Hanzman said his goal is to distribute
some of that money to Champlain condo owners who lost their
units. Currently, a mediator is trying to work on an
equitable solution to allocate that money to them. The
process, however, has proven difficult because some families
who lost relatives in the tragic collapse believe all of
that money should go towards compensating them for the
deaths. In wrapping up Wednesday, Hanzman said he planned to
hold a trial in July or August on the pending class-action
lawsuit filed against the Champlain condo association, its
engineering consultant, Morabito, and seven other
defendants. “I’m going to set this case for trial for next
summer,” Hanzman told the class-action lawyers and the
defendants’ attorneys. “I’m not granting extensions or
continuances.”