Legal Cases Aim to Find Answers in Florida Building Collapse
2021-07-09
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1The search continues for victims of the collapsed Champlain Towers South condominium building in Surfside, Florida.
2And the process of seeking answers about why it fell and who is to blame has already started in the state legal system.
3Officials have opened criminal and civil investigations into the collapse of the building.
4Late Wednesday, rescue workers ended their two-week search for survivors, and are now just looking for the dead.
5Officials said there was "no chance of life" under the destroyed building.
6The Associated Press reports that at least 54 bodies have been found and 86 people are missing.
7Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said she would bring the issue to a grand jury.
8A grand jury gathers evidence and could recommend criminal charges or rule changes.
9Additionally, residents of the building have brought at least six legal cases.
10Jeffrey Goodman is a lawyer representing the children of missing resident Harold Rosenberg.
11"We deserve to be able to walk into buildings without worrying that they're going to come crumbling around us," he said.
12The legal cases accuse the Champlain Towers South Condominium Association of failing to deal with serious problems.
13Structural problems were first seen in 2018.
14Some of the cases also name a local architect and engineer.
15Goodman's legal group said the town of Surfside will also face legal action.
16The town's building inspector had been involved in the discussions about the structural problems.
17"The role of building owners and architects and engineers and inspectors and safety professionals is to make sure that buildings are safe," Goodman said.
18At a hearing Friday, a judge appointed a lawyer to represent the condominium association.
19The board has about $48 million in insurance coverage.
20The land is worth $30 to $50 million, the judge was told.
21The judge said he hoped the lawsuits would end quickly.
22Until then, he permitted the association's lawyer to provide $10,000 each to residents for temporary housing and $2,000 to cover funeral costs.
23A similar case took place in 2013.
24The wall of a building in Philadelphia was being demolished and collapsed.
25The wall fell onto a store next to it, killing six people and injuring 13.
26In the trials that followed, a civil jury found the building's owner and his architect responsible.
27They paid $227 million in damages.
28Criminal charges also were brought.
29A contractor was found not found guilty of third-degree murder, but received a sentence of 15 to 30 years for involuntary manslaughter.
30The collapse also led the city of Philadelphia to pass stronger rules for demolitions.
31And in Florida, a grand jury is still investigating the 2018 collapse of a walking bridge at Florida International University that killed six people.
32Denis Binder is a law professor at Chapman University in California.
33He is an expert in disaster cases.
34He said more victims are seeking criminal charges, in addition to financial damages.
35"I think it's increasing because of the media and social media," as "everybody's horrified by what they can see. And there's this cry for justice," Binder said.
36He added that there is "evidence already [in Surfside] that people have made bad decisions."
37Officials said they would continue the search efforts until they find the remains of every one of the missing.
38I'm Dan Novak.
1The search continues for victims of the collapsed Champlain Towers South condominium building in Surfside, Florida. And the process of seeking answers about why it fell and who is to blame has already started in the state legal system. 2Officials have opened criminal and civil investigations into the collapse of the building. Late Wednesday, rescue workers ended their two-week search for survivors, and are now just looking for the dead. Officials said there was "no chance of life" under the destroyed building. 3The Associated Press reports that at least 54 bodies have been found and 86 people are missing. Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said she would bring the issue to a grand jury. A grand jury gathers evidence and could recommend criminal charges or rule changes. 4Additionally, residents of the building have brought at least six legal cases. Jeffrey Goodman is a lawyer representing the children of missing resident Harold Rosenberg. 5"We deserve to be able to walk into buildings without worrying that they're going to come crumbling around us," he said. 6The legal cases accuse the Champlain Towers South Condominium Association of failing to deal with serious problems. Structural problems were first seen in 2018. 7Some of the cases also name a local architect and engineer. Goodman's legal group said the town of Surfside will also face legal action. The town's building inspector had been involved in the discussions about the structural problems. 8"The role of building owners and architects and engineers and inspectors and safety professionals is to make sure that buildings are safe," Goodman said. 9At a hearing Friday, a judge appointed a lawyer to represent the condominium association. The board has about $48 million in insurance coverage. The land is worth $30 to $50 million, the judge was told. 10The judge said he hoped the lawsuits would end quickly. Until then, he permitted the association's lawyer to provide $10,000 each to residents for temporary housing and $2,000 to cover funeral costs. 11A similar case took place in 2013. The wall of a building in Philadelphia was being demolished and collapsed. The wall fell onto a store next to it, killing six people and injuring 13. 12In the trials that followed, a civil jury found the building's owner and his architect responsible. They paid $227 million in damages. 13Criminal charges also were brought. A contractor was found not found guilty of third-degree murder, but received a sentence of 15 to 30 years for involuntary manslaughter. 14The collapse also led the city of Philadelphia to pass stronger rules for demolitions. 15And in Florida, a grand jury is still investigating the 2018 collapse of a walking bridge at Florida International University that killed six people. 16Denis Binder is a law professor at Chapman University in California. He is an expert in disaster cases. He said more victims are seeking criminal charges, in addition to financial damages. 17"I think it's increasing because of the media and social media," as "everybody's horrified by what they can see. And there's this cry for justice," Binder said. 18He added that there is "evidence already [in Surfside] that people have made bad decisions." 19Officials said they would continue the search efforts until they find the remains of every one of the missing. 20I'm Dan Novak. 21Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting from The Associated Press. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 22________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24condominium- n. a room or set of rooms that is owned by the people who live there and that is part of a larger building containing other similar sets of rooms 25resident - n. someone who lives in a particular place 26deserve -v. used to say that someone should or should not have or be given something 27crumble - v. to break (something) into small pieces 28architect - n. a person who designs buildings 29role -n. the part someone plays in an activity or situation 30demolish - v. to destroy (a building, bridge, etc.) : to forcefully tear down or take apart (a structure) 31involuntary - n. not done by choice 32manslaughter - n. the crime of killing a person without intending to do so