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Plaintiff’s attorneys have reached undisclosed tentative settlement agreements with two key defendants—Morabito Consulting, an engineering company, and Becker, a law firm—in the litigation over the devastating collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida. The agreements will now go before Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Michael Hanzman for review and approval.
“This is great news,” Judge Hanzman said in conversation with the Miami Herald. “Looks like the lawyers did an excellent job.”
Attorneys Stuart Grossman and Rachel Wagner Furst of Grossman Roth Yaffa Cohen played a significant role in making this “breakthrough” in the litigation, as reported by the Herald. In her position as co-chair lead counsel, Attorney Furst has remained committed to working toward a resolution.
“We are pleased that this matter was resolved with both defendants,” Attorney Furst and her colleague Attorney Harley Tropin said in a joint statement. “This is an important step for compensating the victims and we are grateful that it was completed at an early stage.”
Attorney Furst further told the Herald that Attorney Grossman, in his role as wrongful death liaison counsel, “played a central role in hammering out the agreement.”
If the settlement agreements are approved by Judge Hanzman, Morabito Consulting and Becker will no longer need to go to trial over the Surfside condo collapse.
In 2018, Morabito Consulting performed a structural analysis of Champlain Towers South in preparation for the condo’s 40-year recertification.
“Morabito … found ‘abundant cracking and spalling’ in concrete columns and walls, ‘exposed, deteriorating rebar’ and failing waterproofing of the pool deck that was causing ‘major structural damage,’” according to the Herald.
All these property hazards were noted in an inspection report, but Morabito did not take care to explicitly inform the condo association that the building was unsafe.
As the condo association’s legal representation, Becker has been accused of continually failing to act in light of the 2018 report, as well as when “complaints from residents regarding the building’s condition” began to flood in.
Read the full front-page article in the Herald here.
To get in touch with the South Florida law firm of Grossman Roth Yaffa Cohen, call (866) 629-1061 or submit an online contact form.