- A suit against a collapsed Florida building's association claims nearby construction would shake it.
- The lawsuit was filed on Monday by Steve Rosenthal, a
Champlain Towers South resident. - He alleges the shaking quickened the building's sinking and weakened it further.
The second lawsuit filed against the Champlain Towers South Condominium Association alleges that the building used to shake when its neighboring residential complex was under construction.
The lawsuit, filed by building resident Steve Rosenthal, alleges that "numerous complaints" were filed about the condominium shaking and that each of the complaints occurred after research showed signs of sinking in the land around the building.
Florida International University professor Shimon Wdowinski said in a 2020 study that the beachfront location of the condominium showed several signs of land subsidence, or sinking, during the 1990s. Rosenthal alleges in his lawsuit that the building's vibration increased the rate the building was sinking at, which further weakened the structure of the condominium.
The Champlain Towers South Condominium Association's building upkeep has been scrutinized since the building's collapse on June 24:
- The basement garage flooded regularly, which could've seriously damaged it, the Miami Herald reported.
- A lawsuit alleged there were cracks in the outer walls of the building that let in water.
- There were hairline cracks in the concrete balcony floor slabs and concrete columns, USA Today reported, citing inspection reports.
- An engineer uncovered "major structural damage" in the columns, beams, and walls of the garages underneath the condominium, according to inspection reports.
As of Tuesday morning, 11 people were confirmed dead from the building's collapse, and 150 are unaccounted for. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said that over 300 first responders had been working on rotating shifts.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are traveling to the site on Thursday to scope out the damages in person.