The families of 98 victims of the Champlain Towers south condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida reached a $997 million settlement Wednesday. The condominium collapsed on June 24, 2021.

The 12-story complex collapsed abruptly in the early morning, almost instantly destroying dozens of individual condo units and burying victims under tons of rubble. Rescuers spent weeks carefully digging through the wreckage to determine the number of casualties. A total of 98 people were killed in the collapse. Champlain Towers was in the midst of its 40-year structural review when it partially crumbled to the ground.

The victims’ families brought a class-action lawsuit in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit and for Miami-Dade County, Florida. The defendants include the developer Terra Group, the builder John Moriarty and Associates of Florida, insurance companies, and subcontractors accused of contributing to the collapse by causing vibrations when working on the adjacent property.

The case was consolidated into a class section and funds will be distributed similarly to a mass tort action. Families will be entitled to pain and sufferk f damages and economic damages. It is likely thay each family will recieve the same amount in pain and suffering costs, but families now will need to file claims outlining their individual economic loss left in the wake of the death of their loved ones.