Surfside condo collapse victims reach nearly $1 billion settlement

Relatives of victims of the 2021 Surfside, Fla., condo collapse reached a $997 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit.

The agreement, announced Wednesday during a court hearing, settles claims against defendants such as the condo's insurers and an engineering firm that warned about structural problems in the building, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The settlement, which is much higher than expected, settles the claims brought forward by the family members of the 80 people killed last June in the Champlain Towers South collapse.

"The initial pool of insurance money to settle both claims for victims who lost their homes and those who lost family members was $50 million," the WSJ stated.

The victims reached a $83 million settlement in March for their property damage claims through a class-action lawsuit against the condo's builders and others.