The Gainey administration has asked Pittsburgh City Council and a judge to approve a $500,000 payment to the victims of the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse to resolve litigation.
The move, announced in a press release at 6:30 a.m. Friday by Pittsburgh Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak, came as a surprise to lawyers for the victims, who have been battling the city in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court for more than two years.
“No attorneys for any of the victims of the collapse were contacted about this action,” lawyers for all the plaintiffs said in a statement Friday afternoon.
Still, they said they appreciate the city finally accepting responsibility for the bridge collapse, which federal investigators said resulted from years of disrepair and poor maintenance.
Eight people were injured when the Forbes Avenue bridge collapsed on a frigid morning in January 2022. No one was killed.
Pawlak said in a statement that he has forwarded a resolution to council to authorize the payment.
The city’s total liability is capped under state law at $500,000, and if the payment is approved, the money will be split among the victims.
Their lawsuits will continue against three engineering firms, which are not subject to the cap: Larson Design Group Inc, Gannett Fleming Inc., and CDM Smith Inc.
Pawlak said he directed the city’s law department to file a petition in court on the matter, which was done Friday afternoon.
The city said its petition will essentially allow the city to put the money under the court’s jurisdiction so Judge Philip A. Ignelzi can decide how to divide it. Pawlak said the move would avoid the expense of further litigation.
The victims’ lawyers have 20 days to file an answer.
No insight into timing
At a news conference, Pawlak said internal discussions about the proposed resolution have been underway for several days.
He could not address the claims from the lawyers that they did not discuss the topic with the city law department.
Solicitor Krysia Kubiak was not available to take questions.
Pawlak said the decision to make payment reflects that the city is taking responsibility for its role in the bridge collapse.
He could not explain why that decision was made now after being embroiled in litigation since shortly after the disaster.
“It’s been taking too long for everyone to reach a resolution here,” Pawlak said. “Our attorneys identified this as a potential to resolve the issue. They brought it to us. We agreed to advance it, and this is the timing for the filing.”
Pawlak could not give specific details on the time frame for distribution of the proposed payment, but said he expects it will now be streamlined.
“I think all parties in this action have a desire to reach a conclusion. It’s been difficult to achieve that through the legal proceedings that have occurred thus far.”
With the city’s payout limited, Pawlak said he expects the next steps will be to determine how to divide the money among the parties.
“We believe this can accelerate the resolution of the city’s portion of the plan,” Pawlak said. “Exactly how that plays out mechanically, it’s too early to say.”
Pawlak said he could not address whether the city would now cooperate with the victims in their ongoing litigation against the engineering firms.
“I’m not going to speak to legal strategy moving forward at this time,” he said.
A sense of relief
The proposed conclusion comes as the eight victims were growing frustrated and impatient that the matter would not be resolved, as TribLive reported in August.
Lawyer Jason Matzus, who represents Clinton Runco, a dentist injured in the collapse, said he first learned of the city’s plans when contacted by TribLive.
Matzus expressed relief that the city is finally acting.
“It appears the city has finally come to its senses and did what it could have, and should have, done from day one — pay the full liability limits into court rather than defend the indefensible and fight our clients and force them into litigation,” he said.
In February, the National Transportation Safety Board determined that the 447-foot long bridge collapsed because the city failed for years to address severe corrosion and decay.
The bridge, which connected the city’s Regent Square and Squirrel Hill neighborhoods, collapsed Jan. 28, 2022, into a Frick Park ravine about 6:40 a.m.
Featured Local Businesses
Five vehicles, including a mass transit articulated bus, fell, and a sixth vehicle shot into the ravine. No one died, but some victims had serious injuries.
Several victims filed their complaints in May.
They are also suing several engineering firms that were contracted through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to inspect the bridge.
Previously, the victims’ attorneys have said they believe the city, if it wanted to settle, could deposit $500,000 with the court and then allow the rest of the case against the engineering firms to continue.
Not in the loop
Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, said he was not aware of the administration’s plans to try to settle the lawsuit until he was contacted by a TribLive reporter Friday.
Council members, he said, were not briefed on the measure, though they will have to vote on it.
“That’s frustrating, but not surprising,” Coghill said.
Though Coghill criticized the administration of Mayor Ed Gainey for poor communication with council members, he said he was pleased to see progress in the case.
“I’m glad they finally decided to settle. I don’t know why it took so long,” Coghill said. “I’m glad these people will be compensated something on our end.”
Coghill said he felt this should’ve been done months ago.
“It’s a small compensation because of our negligence,” he said. “Let’s cut them a check and be done with it – and thank our lucky stars we didn’t lose a life.”
Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, said she also was not aware until Friday that the city would be asking council to approve the payment.
Warwick anticipates a closed-door executive session to discuss the matter prior to any final vote.
“I’m glad the city was able to come to a settlement and put this very unfortunate chapter in our city’s history behind us,” Warwick said.
Since the bridge collapse, she said the city administration has been doing everything it can to prevent another.
“Leaving our infrastructure to degrade and decay for so many years could’ve been much worse than it was.”