That's about six months later than Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman had planned, but lawyers in the complex and unusual case said experts need more time to assess what caused the 12-story Champlain Towers South building to collapse in June 2021.
"That is a firm deadline, ladies and gentlemen," Hanzman stated during a virtual hearing. "This case will be tried in March 2023."
Champlain Towers, located in Surfside, Florida, collapsed in one of the worst building disasters in US history. Federal and state agencies are investigating what occurred, but a conclusion is unlikely to be reached for several months.
The main lawsuit, filed in November, claims that construction on an adjacent luxury condo building known as Eighty Seven Park damaged and destabilized the aging Champlain Towers building, which was already in desperate need of major structural repairs.
Lawyers for insurance companies, the developers of the adjacent building, and other entities said the initial trial date of September would not allow engineers and other experts to fully evaluate what happened.
"It will be impossible to try this case in the fall," said Michael Goldberg, the Champlain Towers condo association's court-appointed receiver.
The lawsuit claims that between 2016 and 2019, excavation, pile-driving, and other work at Eighty Seven Park, just across the city line in Miami Beach, caused vibrations that weakened the shaky structure next door. Furthermore, the lawsuit claims that groundwater was diverted from the new building to the Champlain Towers basement after developers purchased a small road separating the two.
The defendants have denied that the collapse was caused by the construction of the 18-story Eighty Seven Park building. In a previous statement, they claimed that Champlain Towers was "improperly designed, poorly constructed, significantly underfunded, and inadequately maintained."
The property where the now-demolished Champlain Towers South once stood is up for sale, with bidding at around $120 million for the prime oceanfront land. A nearby memorial to those who died is also being planned.
The lawsuit does not specify a monetary amount for damages, but lawyers estimate it could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. All of this money would be used to settle wrongful death claims and compensate people who lost their condos and belongings in the collapse.
Lawyers should not expect any further delays beyond March of next year, according to Hanzman.
"This court does not operate on a leisurely schedule," the judge stated. "This case will not be pursued further."