U.S. Treasury will soon reimburse Surfside residents for $750,000 cash found in condo rubble

An estimated $750,000 in randomly scattered cash that was recovered in the rubble of the Surfside condo collapse will soon be driven in an armored truck to Washington, D.C., and converted into a lump-sum payment — courtesy of the Treasury Department for the benefit of residents who lost the money in the summer tragedy.

That promising news was delivered Wednesday by the receiver for the Champlain Towers South condo association to a Miami-Dade Circuit judge who is overseeing legal matters, including a class-action lawsuit, in the aftermath of the 136-unit building collapse in which nearly 100 people died.

Receiver Michael Goldberg said he was coordinating a plan with the Secret Service to haul the badly damaged currency to the nation’s capital. The Treasury Department has agreed to clean up the cash, count it and then wire the reimbursement check to him, so he can distribute the money to the Champlain condo residents.

Goldberg told Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman that Miami-Dade County, which played a central role in the search, rescue and recovery efforts, recently reached out to him for his wiring instructions so that he could receive the money from the Treasury Department.

Goldberg called it a “good sign” that the money will be coming soon, adding that it will be held in a trust account until he receives instructions from the judge.

More than likely, the receiver and the judge will create a system allowing for the Champlain residents who lost some cash to file a claim.

Goldberg also said that a fraction of the money recovered in the 12-story building collapse was found in purses and wallets, which in some instances can be tied directly to certain condo residents.

Among other developments at Wednesday’s hearing, Goldberg told the judge that he was working with county officials, including Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, to come up with a plan for the condo residents to claim personal belongings found in the Surfside rubble. More than likely, the items, ranging from heirlooms to photographs to jewelry, will be photographed and posted on a proprietary website so that residents can click an item and claim it.

“I do want that process to move forward,” Hanzman told Goldberg.

Another attorney, Paul Singerman, who is handling legal issues for the receiver, said that a confidential settlement was reached with one of the insurers for the Champlain condo association — though he could not disclose the amount.

Arch Specialty Insurance Company, based in New York, had refused to pay out any insurance claims to the condo board because the policy covered the period 2014 to 2018 — three years before the Champlain tower collapsed on June 24, 2021. But Singerman said a negotiated settlement was reached with Arch based on the argument that some structural damage might have occurred during the coverage period that eventually contributed to the tower’s collapse.

Judge Hanzman, who has been trying to generate as much money from settlements without litigation, called the confidential agreement a “significant recovery” and “outstanding result,” without disclosing the amount.

So far, all of the Champlain condo association’s current insurers voluntarily issued full policy payments, totaling $30 million for property losses and $19 million for personal injury coverage. Arch’s undisclosed settlement will be added to that combined pot of roughly $49 million.

The biggest pot of money is expected to come from the sale of the nearly two-acre oceanfront property at 8777 Collins Ave. To date, a United Arab Emirates developer has offered $120 million for the site, but other bidders could offer more between now and an auction in February.

Hanzman said his goal is to distribute some of that money to Champlain condo owners who lost their units. Currently, a mediator is trying to work on an equitable solution to allocate that money to them. The process, however, has proven difficult because some families who lost relatives in the tragic collapse believe all of that money should go towards compensating them for the deaths.

In wrapping up Wednesday, Hanzman said he planned to hold a trial in July or August on the pending class-action lawsuit filed against the Champlain condo association, its engineering consultant, Morabito, and seven other defendants.

“I’m going to set this case for trial for next summer,” Hanzman told the class-action lawyers and the defendants’ attorneys. “I’m not granting extensions or continuances.”