Brother of Surfside Condo Collapsed Victims Testifies Against Bill That It Will Reduce Time For Construction Claims Lawsuits – CBS Miami

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami) – Hoping to make a difference, the brother of a victim of the collapse of a Surfside condo testified Tuesday in Tallahassee against a law that would shorten the time it takes to file a property defect complaint.

“Senate Bill 736 suggests the opposite of what must be done after such an unimaginable event,” said Martin Langesfeld, who lost his sister Nicole and her husband in the collapse of the Champlain Towers South, which killed 98 people on June 24th Life came.

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Since the Surfside tragedy, he has been fighting for his family and everyone else, pushing for better laws and more accountability for property developers and building construction.

As things stand at present, if the building in which you live is defective, you can file a lawsuit against contractors and builders within 10 years. The proposed law would shorten this period to just four years.

Langesfeld says at a time when developers should be held accountable, this bill suggests the opposite.

“When I saw Senate Law 736, I couldn’t believe that accountability to a developer would be reduced to 4 years so developers could look the other way quickly,” Langesfeld said.

His frank testimony on Tuesday called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to vote against Senate Law 736.

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“Nobody in the United States would have expected a building to collapse in a total of 12 seconds. But it has, ”said Langesfeld.

He testified that the proposed bill will remove responsibility from contractors and builders in the face of tragedy like Surfside.

“With this draft law, it became clear to me how difficult it is for anyone who has no development or construction skills to make claims for their own safety within their own four walls because of a construction defect.”

According to Senate Law 736, complaints about latent defects such as building cracks, leaks, pipeline problems or toxic conditions would have to be filed within just four years.

“You don’t see construction defects until 5, maybe 10 years later. Most of the time it’s longer. It took Surfside 40 years and sometimes you don’t even see the flaws, ”argued Langesfeld.

He says, if anything, lawmakers should consider lengthening rather than shortening the timeframe. He says when this law is passed, “The negligence will continue and that is why so many innocent people have died.”

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The next hearing on Senate Law 736 is expected to take place in January. Langesfeld said he planned to be there.

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