Gran Paraiso Developer Sues Over Tower Crane That Collapsed During Hurricane Irma
This is the second lawsuit filed over tower cranes that collapsed during the hurricane.
April 25, 2018 at 05:26 PM
4 minute read
The tower crane that collapsed during Hurricane Irma at the Gran Paraiso construction site in Miami was either improperly designed, poorly built, or both, as it should have been able to withstand winds much stronger than those in Irma, according to a lawsuit.
The developer of Gran Paraiso sued the companies that provided the crane, Connecticut-based manufacturer Terex Corp. and Pennsylvania-based Maxim Crane Works LP.
This is the second lawsuit filed over tower cranes that collapsed in South Florida during the hurricane. In the first lawsuit, X Miami subcontractor L&R Structural Corp. Inc. sued Maxim in February over a crane collapse that occurred as Irma made landfall Sept. 10 and plowed up the state.
Gran Paraiso, 660 NE 31st St., is part of the four-condo tower complex of One Paraiso, Paraiso Bay and Paraiso Bayviews. All are along Northeast 31st Street and east of Biscayne Boulevard, along the easternmost part of 31st Street that abuts the bay, in Miami's trendy Edgewater neighborhood.
The Miami-Dade Circuit Court complaint lists strict products liability and negligence counts against both Terex and Maxim. The lawsuit also lists information negligently supplied for the guidance of others and breach of contract counts against Maxim.
This lawsuit, much like the one filed earlier this year by L&R, alleges the crane was defective. It also alleges the collapse damaged the building, slowed down unit sale closings and made for a profit loss, according to the April 13 complaint.
“The crane, if designed and manufactured appropriately and with due care, should have easily withstood the winds of Hurricane Irma in Miami-Dade County,” according to the complaint filed by Greenberg Traurig shareholders Christopher Barnett and Michael Thomas in Miami.
“The crane collapse should never have happened and we are taking action to ensure that those entities who manufactured, distributed, owned and operated the crane are responsible for the ensuing damage,” Thomas, co-chair of the firm's National Construction Law Practice, said in an emailed statement.
Terex didn't return a request for comment.
Maxim attorney Bryant Blevins, partner with Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig in Miami, declined comment.
The Gran Paraiso crane was in a “dangerous condition” because it was “inadequately designed” and was represented to be able to withstand winds stronger than Irma, according to the complaint. Irma winds reached 81 mph and wind gusts reached 99 mph in parts of Miami-Dade County, according to reports from the Miami Herald.
In the crane lease between Gran Paraiso general contractor, Plaza Construction Group Florida LLC, and Maxim, Maxim signed off on the crane being free from defects, which turned out to be false, the complaint alleges.
PRH Paraiso Two LLC and PRH NE 31st Street LLC, affiliates of Paraiso complex developer The Related Group, filed the lawsuit.
The Related Group, founded by CEO Jorge M. Pérez, also is developing Auberge Beach Residences & Spa at 2200 N. Ocean Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, along with Fortune International Group, led by Edgardo Defortuna. A crane also collapsed at the Auberge site.
X Miami, which is on the northeast corner of Fourth Street and Second Avenue near the Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus, is being developed by Property Markets Group and is part of its X Social Communities portfolio.
The X Miami lawsuit alleges that crane was in a “dangerous condition” because it collapsed in winds weaker than what it's designed to withstand and also that it was Maxim's responsibility to disassemble and remove the crane after the storm, but Maxim didn't replace it in a “commercially reasonable time”, according to the complaint.
Holland & Knight attorneys Michael Candes, James McCrae and Andrew Albaugh in Orlando filed that lawsuit.
For its part, Maxim has argued the lease left L&R Construction responsible for costs from the collapse.
“You are responsible to pay for all costs and expenses arising from or resulting from the accident, which would include … the cost of the repairs of the equipment, all retrieval costs and continued rent,” Maxim said in the letter signed by Ryan Gutwald, Maxim vice president of risk management. “The machine will remain on rent until it has been repaired, inspected and returned into our rental fleet.”
Now, Maxim wants this case transferred out of state court and into the U.S. Southern District of Florida citing, among other things, diversity of citizenship based on it being headquartered in Pennsylvania, according to the April 18 court filing.
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