A resident of the partially collapsed condo tower in Florida has filed a $5 million-plus, class-action suit alleging that the deadly disaster could have been prevented, according to reports Friday.
Manuel Drezner, who owns an apartment in the 12-story building, claims in court papers that the Champlain Towers South Condominium Association failed to “properly protect the lives and property” of himself and “others similarly situated,” WTVJ said.
The suit also accuses the condo association of “failing to take available steps to prevent the catastrophic collapse of the building, and failing to monitor the building and activities that led to the collapse,” WTJV said.
The suit, which is the first filed over the building’s collapse, was filed in the Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit Court in Miami at 11:29 p.m. Thursday, about 22 hours after the unexplained incident in Surfside, which killed at least four and left as many as 159 people missing.
Drezner’s lawyer, Brad Sohn, told NPR that “I have already learned some additional information that is stunning” but didn’t elaborate.
The condo association didn’t return repeated requests for comment, NPR said.