A new lawsuit says that construction of a luxury building next door triggered the collapse of an already fragile Florida condominium that killed 98 people in June.
The lawsuit, filed late Tuesday on behalf of Champlain Towers South victims and family members, contends that work on the adjacent Eighty Seven Park tower damaged and destabilized a building in dire need of major structural repair, CBS News reported Wednesday.
Champlain Towers, the lawsuit claims, "was an older building in need of routine repairs and maintenance, but it was not until excavation and construction began on the luxury high-rise condominium project next door" that the building became unsafe.
"The collapse was entirely preventable," the lawsuit says.
Champlain Towers was in the midst of its 40-year structural review when it collapsed without warning in the early morning hours of June 24. The collapse has triggered multiple federal and state investigations and a flurry of lawsuits by victims, families and condo owners.
The lawsuit filed on Tuesday contends that excavation, pile-driving and other work at Eighty Seven Park between 2016 and 2019 caused vibrations that weakened the shaky structure next door. In addition, groundwater was funneled from the new building to the Champlain Towers basement after developers bought a small road separating the two, the lawsuit says.
The 169-page complaint is a potential class action that could represent all victims and their families. It was filed as part of an existing case in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court that also involves the planned sale of the Champlain Towers property to benefit victims.
The remains of the last person who was killed in the Surfside condominium were identified in late July, one month after the collapse.
Days earlier, a judge ruled that families who suffered losses in the collapse of the building will receive at least $150 million in initial compensation.
The figure includes insurance on the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside. Expected proceeds from the sale of where the property once stood is also included.