The Surfside condo collapse victims received preliminary approval for a settlement of over $1 billion



A settlement of more than $1 billion for the victims of the tragic 2021 condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida has been reached.

The Miami Herald reported that this past Friday that a team of lawyers representing family members of the dozens of people who died in the Champlain Towers South tragedy reached a settlement totaling $1,021,199,000.

The settlement agreement was submitted to Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman who gave his preliminary approval on Saturday at a court hearing that followed around-the-clock negotiations about a potential settlement.

The settlement was reached less than a month before the one-year anniversary of the tragedy.

“It’s a great result,” Hanzman said on Saturday. “This agreement appears to be a very reasonable compromise of the claims.”

The over one-billion-dollar agreement comes as a class-action settlement and as the defendants agreed to pay to resolve wrongful-death and personal-injury claims by the victims’ relatives. The defendants made no admission of wrongdoing and most of the payments to the plaintiffs are being covered through insurance coverage.

In the class-action plaintiff’s lawyers' 213-page settlement filing they wrote, “As this Court has noted, the collapse of the Champlain Towers South on June 24, 2021, in Surfside was a ‘black swan' event that devastated the community. The death and destruction caused by the collapse resulted in incalculable damage to so many individuals.”

The lawyers continued, “Remarkably, after months of rigorous, arm’s-length negotiations … more than two dozen potentially liable parties have agreed to an unprecedented settlement for an unprecedented event.”

Hanzman is expected to give final approval of the class-action settlement later this summer after a comment period and “fairness hearing” on June 23. Hanzman also plans to participate in a series of claims hearing in which relatives and representatives of victims who died or were injured in Champlain South’s collapse will be able to make a case for what their lives were worth. This process is expected to be arduous and emotional.

The class-action team’s co-chairs released a statement that said, “We are pleased to have finalized the settlments we reached with more than two dozen parties and their insurers.”

The statement continued, “We are grateful to Judge Hanzman, who fast-tracked this case to get it resolved in record time. We also recognize the efforts of the receiver Michael Goldberg and the mediator Bruce Greer and all of the members of the plaintiffs steering committee who worked tirelessly on this matter.”

Popular Atlanta rapper Young Thug arrested on RICO, gang-related charges



The Atlanta-based rapper Young Thug was one of nearly 30 people indicted Monday in Georgia on conspiracy to violate the state’s RICO act and charges stemming from street gang activity.

Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffrey Lamar Williams, was arrested at his home in Buckhead, a suburb just north of Atlanta, Georgia. The Associated Press reported that he is currently being held at the Fulton County Jail.

The charges of conspiracy date back to 2013, and the gang-related charges date back to 2018, according to jail records.

According to the indictment, Young Thug is allegedly one of three founders of the organization called Young Slime Life, “a criminal street gang that started in 2012” in Atlanta. Young Slime Life is affiliated with the national Bloods gang.

Court documents state that the Young Slime Life criminal organization started as a street gang in the Cleveland Avenue area of Atlanta in 2012.

The gang-related charges include “preserving, protecting and enhancing reputation, power and territory of enterprise through acts of racketeering activity including murder, assault and threats of violence.”

Fox 5 Atlanta reported that the indictment lists more than 180 acts that support just the first of the 56 separate charges filed against members of Young Slime Life. Currently, Young Thug is only charged with two counts.

However, Young Thug’s lawyer, Brian Steel, told local media outlets that “Mr. Williams committed no crime whatsoever” and that he intends to “fight till his last drop of blood to clear him.”

Young Thug’s first court appearance will be on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.

Indicted along with Young Thug on Monday were Atlanta-based rapper Gunna, whose real name is Sergio Kitchens, and an aspiring rapper, Christian Eppinger. Eppinger was already in jail, accused of shooting an Atlanta Police officer six times in February.

It was not immediately known at the time the indictment was issued whether Gunna, who has been accused of conspiracy to violate the state’s RICO act, has been arrested.

In April 2021, Young Thug and Gunna posted bail payments for 30 low-level inmates who were unable to afford the payments themselves.

Young Thug’s record label has been called YSL Records or Young Stoner Life Records. The label refers to its artists as part of the “Slime Family,” and a compilation album of the artists called “Slime Language 2” charted at the top spot on the charts in April 2021.

A prominent law firm that defends liberal media stars and celebrities is currently representing Russian oligarchs tied to Putin and the Steele dossier despite Western sanctions



In the immediate aftermath of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Western nations and institutions moved to cripple the Russian economy through the swift implementation of thoroughgoing sanctions.

In late February, the European Commission — the executive branch of the European Union — along with leadership from France, Germany, Italy, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States issued a joint statement declaring their intention to prevent Russian banks from accessing the SWIFT communications network.

In doing so, Western leaders effectively made it impossible for Russia to participate in international trade using the necessary financial infrastructure established by the SWIFT network. Western leaders also took it upon themselves to sanction “the people and entities who facilitate the war in Ukraine” and to “limit the sale of citizenship … that let wealthy Russians connected to the government become citizens of our countries and gain access to our financial systems.”

Western governments locked arms and declared their opposition to Russia’s invasion, and Western companies began to divest and terminate their dealings within the Russian marketplace. These sanctions and divestments led Russian oligarchs to seek refuge outside of Russia and its new Western rivals’ borders so that they might not have their wealth drained by them.

However, these oligarchs are not without any allies in the West.

The well-known US-based law firm Clare Locke LLP has maintained its relationship with Russian oligarchs Mikhail Friedman, Petr Aven, and German Khan.

The oligarchs repped by Clare Locke have been sanctioned by both the European Union and the United Kingdom for their close ties to Putin and are “locked in litigation against D.C.-based research firm Fusion GPS over allegations in the infamous Steele dossier,” reported the Daily Beast.

Aside from alleged allies of Putin, the Daily Beast also reported that former clients of Clare Locke include “60 Minutes” Executive Producer Jeff Fager, who hired the firm to “effectively neuter” a Washington Post investigation into him; former “Today” show host Matt Lauer; and New York Times reporter Glenn Thrush.

The firm consists of a husband-and-wife duo who established themselves by providing legal defense for men accused of misconduct during the #MeToo era and aggressively pursuing suits against media institutions.

Clare Locke’s website proudly proclaims that the firm’s client list also includes, “Fortune 100 companies, hedge funds, private equity firms, professional sports teams, CEOs, journalists, and other prominent individuals who – by virtue of their success, public profile, and nationally recognized brands – are unfairly targeted by the media.”