- A second lawsuit was filed on Monday against the Champlain Towers Condominium Association.
- The lawsuit alleges that recently added weight to the building’s roof was “the straw that broke the spine” of the complex.
- A structural engineering firm said roof repairs were one part of the condo’s restoration plan.
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Recent renovations and added heavy materials to the top of the Champlain Towers South condominium were the final “straw that broke the spine” of the building and led to its collapse, according to a new lawsuit against the condominium association.
The lawsuit, filed by building resident Steve Rosenthal, alleges that “weight bearing load” was added atop the condo using a crane without properly testing, inspecting, and evaluating the structural integrity of the building before construction began.
The owners of the building were days away from beginning to pay for at least $9 million in repairs that had been recommended by a structural engineering firm’s 40-year building repair and restoration plan. Engineers from the firm said that some of the aforementioned roof repairs had begun, but concrete restoration had not begun at the time of the condo’s collapse.
The lawsuit also alleges that the Champlain Towers South Condominium Association contracted a company to install a transmission device or antenna on top of the building, once again “without proper investigation as to the potential or likely impacts of such activity.”
As of Tuesday morning, 11 people are confirmed dead from the disaster and 150 are unaccounted for. There are at least 300 first responders at the scene working on rotating shifts, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said that the rescue attempt is the “largest-ever deployment of task resources” in Florida history that’s not in response to a hurricane.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will visit the disaster site on Thursday to survey the damages.
Natalie Musumeci contributed reporting.
