Conrad & Scherer senior partner Steven Osber. Photo: Melanie Bell

The owner and contractors on a Miami Beach building that collapsed during demolition were accused in a worker's wrongful death suit of using an illegal work method when the structure crashed in a plume of dust and debris.

The Marlborough House was being torn down last July 23 to make way for a high-end development when the 13-story structure collapsed next to Collins Avenue.

Samuel Landis, who was working on the project, was struck by debris and died Aug. 3 from his injuries, the lawsuit claims.

Landis' mother, Judith Landis, on Monday sued affiliates of the owner and developer as well as the contractors, alleging they were using an implosion method after the city denied an implosion permit and prohibits implosion demolitions altogether.

Two subcontractors started demolishing the building by pulling out first-floor support structures with chains and a front-end loader, essentially pulling “the legs out from underneath the building,” according to the Miami-Dade Circuit Court complaint.

“This intended plan was not authorized by the city but was illegally authorized and/or approved by all of the defendants, who collectively agreed that it was to be performed surreptitiously, in contumacious disregard of the city of Miami Beach ordinances,” attorney Steven Osber wrote in the complaint. This was done “because it was a 'quicker and cheaper' method of demolition.”

Osber is a senior partner at Conrad & Scherer in Fort Lauderdale.

Developer Multiplan Real Estate Asset Management, whose affiliates are named as defendants, on Tuesday expressed its sympathy and sorrow for the Landis family but didn't address specifics of the lawsuit.

“This was a terrible tragedy. Our hearts remain with the Landis family over their loss,” Multiplan managing partner Marcelo Kingston said in an emailed statement.

The complaint names Miami Beach Associates LLC, which owns the 1.5-acre site at 5775 Collins Ave., and MREAM LLC as defendants. Both are affiliates of Multiplan, according to the state Division of Corporations.

Miami Beach Associates applied for a city demolition permit using an implosion technique, but the city denied the permit several times. The city approved a demolition permit using conventional methods, according to the complaint.

Under the permit, crews should have started from the top of the building and worked their way down using a crane or other equipment, the complaint said. An implosion could be done either using explosives or by removing parts of the structure to trigger an inward collapse of the building.

Kingston directed further inquiries to the general contractor, saying it oversaw the demolition.

General contractor Winmar Construction Inc. hired subcontractor AlliedBean Demolition Inc., based in Fort Lauderdale, for the demolition job.

Winmar, AlliedBean and AlliedBean president Kevin Bean are named defendants.

Winmar's attorney, Peterson, Baldor & Marange managing partner Michael Peterson in Miami, responded to a request for comment but did not provide one by deadline.

Bean and AlliedBean didn't return a request for comment by deadline.

The complaint also alleged some of the defendants didn't use proper safety precautions. AlliedBean encouraged spectators to watch the demolition that morning as a business marketing tactic, but no safety barriers or safety traffic procedures were in place, according to the complaint.

Safety & Risk Solutions LLC, a Lake-Worth-based subcontractor hired to provide safety and accident prevention services, also is a named defendant.

Company president Philip Nanna said that 13 safety reviews were done at the Marlborough House before the demolition, but that his company wasn't present during the demolition.

Safety & Risk Solutions is the safety review subcontractor on all of Winmar's project sites, Nanna said, adding that his company still hasn't been served with the complaint.

He also pointed out that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated the collapse and the demolition subcontractor.

OSHA's website shows it issued AlliedBean violations in connection with eye and face protection as well as mechanical demolition standards.

The remaining defendants are AlliedBean subcontractor AA Demolition Management LLC and Alan Wackes, who is alleged to have worked as qualifying agent for AlliedBean, also was sued. The Daily Business Review was unable to reach Wackes and AA Demolition Management.

Osber, the filing attorney, on Tuesday maintained the defendants proceeded with a dangerous, illegal demolition method.

“The most egregious violation would be engaging in a construction practice that is so blatantly dangerous to the general public without regard for the laws of the city of Miami Beach or generally accepted construction practices,” he said.

 

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Implosion or Not? Lawsuits Likely Over Miami Beach Building Collapse