SURFSIDE, Fla. – The Champlain Towers South condo association, which is under intense legal and public scrutiny for its handling of repairs before last month’s deadly building collapse, has agreed to hand over financial decision making to a court-appointed “receiver.”
A lawyer for the board on Friday made the announcement during a court hearing, and Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman appointed attorney Michael Goldberg as the receiver. The judge immediately gave Goldberg the authority to grant up to $10,000 of insurance money for condo owners who need help finding new homes in the aftermath of the collapse. The judge also allowed up to $2,000 more for families needing to pay for funerals for loved ones who died in the collapse.
So far, insurance companies for the doomed condo building have already agreed to $3 million in insurance money, lawyers said during Friday’s hearing. The building had insurance policies for at least $48 million.
A receiver is a court-appointed expert, usually an attorney, who specializes in sorting out complicated financial matters. Goldberg is well-known in South Florida legal circles, and has been appointed as a receiver in many high-profile cases to help get money back for Ponzi scheme victims.
“You are the most preeminent and experienced receiver in this community,” Hanzman told Goldberg during Friday’s hearing.
So far, at least five lawsuits have been filed against the condo association for the deadly June 24 collapse that has claimed the lives of at least 18 people and left another 145 missing. A massive search-and-rescue operation remains underway in Surfside, despite threats of more building collapse and even a hurricane.
The claims will eventually be consolidated into a class-action lawsuit, and the judge had pressed the board to agree to a receiver to manage property and money. “The court has to believe that the individuals who lived in that condo and served on the board are extremely traumatized and the last thing they want to do is be [inspecting] insurance policies,” Hanzman said during Thursday’s court hearing.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs too had questioned the board’s ability to juggle financial decisions — pointing out that it hired a crisis public relations firm in the aftermath of the collapse.
On Friday, association attorney Paul Singerman said that one board member remains “regrettably unaccounted for,” but the rest of the members met Thursday. “The board voted unanimously to consent to the appointment of Michael Goldberg as the court’s receiver,” Singerman said.
Hanzman lauded the board’s decision. “There can no doubt in the court’s mind that these individuals who were unit owners there and served on the board are in a tremendously difficult time, tremendously stressful time, and I commend all of them for having the wisdom and insight to realize it was time to step aside,” he said.
The judge also said that he wants to the case to unfold quickly — hopefully to be wrapped up within a year. He said he will hold weekly hearings.
“I am not going to allow this case to drag out,” Hanzman said.
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