Market Street building collapse civil case ends in $227M settlement

Real estate developer Richard Basciano, the Salvation Army and several others will pay out $227 million in damages in the civil case over the deadly June 2013 building collapse at Market and 22nd streets that led to the deaths of seven and injured a dozen others.

The settlement came down Wednesday, and marks a record for the largest personal injury settlement in Pennsylvania history, according to the attorneys who represented the collapse victims in the case.

The jury in the civil trial found all of the defendants – including architect Plato Marinakos Jr. – responsible late last month.

Philly.com reported that the Salvation Army is expected to pay $200 million of the settlement, while Basciano must cover the remaining $27 million in damages.

The source said the settlement was reached Tuesday and that the deciding factor was the fact that the Salvation Army’s liability insurance capped at $100 million.

The Salvation Army issued a statement on the decision: "Our deepest sympathy remains with the victims and their families through this extremely difficult time. We pray for the healing of our community. The Salvation Army continues to serve those in need, with compassion, as we have for more than 137 years in Philadelphia."

The parents of Anne Bryan, who died while shopping at the Salvation Army Thrift Store when the construction project happening next door collapsed onto the roof of the shop, expressed gratitude that the conclusion of the civil trial brought attention to the need for building owners to make safety a priority.

"We will never get over Anne's tragic death. This trial, for the first time, shed light on the full story of how and why the collapse – which was so preventable - occurred," Nancy Winkler and Jay Bryan said in a statement. "We will forever miss Anne, but we will also be eternally grateful for the work of the jury. They sent a strong message that owners have an absolute duty to protect public safety above all."

Winkler previously led the successful initiative to turn the collapse site into a memorial park.

Robert J. Mongeluzzi, of Saltz Mongeluzzi Barrett & Bendesky, in a statement, described the settlement as "epic in dimension, fair, just, and, most importantly, a powerful deterrent to all those in any business or organization, at any level, whether they wear a suit or a uniform, who try to cut corners, save a buck, shove safety aside and put human life at risk."

The roughly 6-month long civil trial came to an end nearly two years after several workers involved in the demolition activities that day were convicted of criminal charges.

Attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the case – including Mongeluzzi, Steven G. Wigrizer, Harry M. Roth, Jeffrey P. Goodman, Adam E. Grutzmacher, Jason S. Weiss, and James G. Begley – said the exact amount each of their clients receives will be determined in an arbitration process.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal