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The firm’s Stuart Sobel, Steven Siegfried and Michael Clark represented Miami Dade College in securing a $33.5 million settlement over the partial collapse of its parking garage while it was under construction at the school’s West Campus in Doral in 2012.
After repeated mediations over period of more than a year, the construction settlement that was finalized last week enabled all of the 22 parties that were involved to avoid the uncertainties and vicissitudes of litigation.
According to Stuart, the most significant obstacle for the college was to have all of the parties accept the engineering reality that the remaining portion of the newly constructed garage had to be demolished, including removal of its foundation, with a new garage being constructed from the ground up. Based on its belief that it was the safest and most appropriate course, the college demolished the remaining portion of the garage while the mediation was still in progress and before a settlement had been reached. It relied on its trial team to either convince the responsible parties and their insurers through the mediation process or, if necessary, convince a jury through trial that its action was justified. Through the settlement, the SRHL trial team achieved consensus supporting the college’s course of action.
Click below to watch the video of the report by Willard Shepard of NBC 6, click here to read the article from the Daily Business Review (registration required), and click here for the article that appeared in The Miami Herald.