Surfside condo collapse lawsuit reaches tentative $83 million settlement

The victims of the Surfside condo collapse reached a tentative $83 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit after the tragedy in South Florida last June. 

The court filings, first reported on by ABC News, show that the agreement creates an $83 million Common Fund for condo owners as compensation for lost property. The owners will no longer be held liable for injury and wrongful death claims, the outlet stated. 

Champlain Towers South condominium collapse killed 98 people, making it one of the most deadly building collapses in U.S. history. Fifty-five units immediately were destroyed when the Surfside building collapsed in the middle of the night in June 2021. The remaining 136 units were later destroyed, according to court documents obtained by ABC.

The punitive class-action case was filed against multiple groups and individuals, including the construction company that built the building, businesses that developed and maintained the property, as well as engineers and building inspectors.

The final approval hearing on the settlement is scheduled for March 30, and any objections must be filed by March 23. 

Victims will be able to receive a share proportional to the share of their ownership in the condo.

"Once the agreement is finalized and can no longer be appealed, the victims will receive $50 million out of the first $100 million that is recovered from groups responsible for the building. The remaining $33 million of the settlement will be paid out of the money that's first recovered after that $100 million, according to the court filing," ABC reported.

Additional recovered funds will go toward wrongful death claimants, the filing stated.