KEY TAKEAWAYS: A $106 million settlement has been approved in litigation stemming from the 2019 Hard Rock Hotel construction collapse. The settlement covers nearly 500 claimants, including families of three workers killed, injured workers, businesses and other parties. Judge Kern Reese approve d the settlement Aug. 6, with individual payments and defendant contributions remaining confidential. Court-appointed mediator and special master John Perry Jr. will oversee distribution of settlement funds based on claimants’ injuries, losses and damages.   Nearly seven years after the Hard Rock Hotel construction collapse in downtown New Orleans, claimants, defendants, and insurers involved in the litigation have reached a $106 million settlement. The agreement resolves claims tied to the Oct. 12, 2019, collapse of the 18-story hotel project at Canal and Rampart Streets. According to court records on the Orleans Parish Civil District Court website, Judge Kern Reese signed a judgment Aug. 6 approving the proposed settlement with claimants, defendants, and their insurers, as filed by the court-appointed Plaintiff Steering Committee. Attached to the filing was a confidential memorandum in support of the motion, as well as 21 master settlement agreements filed under seal. Because the agreements are confidential, the individual settlement amounts from each defendant and for each plaintiff were not disclosed. The settlement covers nearly 500 claimants, including families of the three workers killed in the collapse, injured workers, bystanders, nearby business owners, and other parties that claimed damages from the disaster. The settlement also resolves claims involving the hotel developer, contractors, subcontractors, and insurers connected to the project. The settlement funds will be distributed through a court-supervised process. Court-appointed mediator and special master John Perry Jr. will oversee allocation of payments to claimants based on the nature and extent of their injuries, losses, and damages. The legal case stretched for more than six years and involved lawsuits filed by injured workers, families of the deceased workers, nearby businesses, the city of New Orleans, the Sewerage Water Board, and project-related companies. The lawsuits were eventually consolidated into one case involving 490 plaintiffs and 21 defendants. The Hard Rock Hotel project was led by developer Mohan Kailas and his family through Kailas Companies, under the ownership entity 1031 Canal Development LLC. Citadel Builders, led by Denzel Clark, served as the primary construction firm for the $85 million hotel project. The unfinished Hard Rock Hotel partially collapsed during construction when upper floors pancaked downward, killing three workers: Anthony Magrette, Jose Ponce Areola, and Quinnyon Wimberly. The collapse also injured others, damaged nearby property, and forced a long shutdown of surrounding streets and businesses. The unstable remains of the structure created additional hazards after the collapse, including two large construction cranes that had to be brought down through a controlled implosion. The rest of the damaged structure was later demolished, with the site cleared by early 2021. No criminal charges were filed in connection with the collapse. In 2020, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited several companies connected to the project and issued fines that were later resolved. ...read more read less