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Miami building collapse: Family of missing man needs to better explain drone usage, judge rules

Palm Beach Post - 7/2/2021

The family of a man missing in the Surfside condominium collapse must better clarify how their request for a drone to survey the wreckage will add to the investigation, a Miami-Dade judge ruled late Thursday night.

Judge Michael A. Hanzman instructed lawyers representing the missing Harold Rosenberg to explain "in detail, how the proposed aerial drone will likely lead to the discovery of admissible evidence on the cause of the structure's catastrophic collapse."

The family has asked permission to hire their own evidence inspector and to fly a drone over the site to collect their own evidence. The law firms of Morgan & Morgan and Saltz, Mongeluzzi & Bendesky announced last weekend they were investigating the collapse and considering legal action.

More: Lakewood couple among the missing in Florida building collapse

Judge Hanzman's ruling also instructs all parties involved with the investigation to preserve all relevant evidence, including "ALL permits, engineering surveys and reports, construction plans, site surveys, deeds, property records, internal communications, photographs, maintenance records, proposals/contracts for work on any portion of the building, board of directors meeting agendas and minutes, and all other related documents."

Rosenberg lived on the building's second floor. His daughter and son-in-law, Benny, 32, and Malky Weisz, 27, were visiting at the time and are also missing, lawyers said.

According to the Asbury Park Press, the two were visiting the 52-year-old Rosenberg from their home in New Jersey.

Robert Mongeluzzi, a Philadephia-based lawyer who specializes in construction disasters, said when the suit was originally filed: "The key to answering the question, what happened to my loved one, is the evidence and the debris and the rubble and the collapse that is at the site.

"The families have no idea whether it is being documented as they peel through that collapse, layer by layer, have no idea what is going to happen to that evidence, and they deserve a voice and a role in this process."

Frank Gluck is a watchdog reporter with The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. Connect with him at fgluck@news-press.com or on Twitter: @FrankGluck

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami building collapse: Family of missing man needs to better explain drone usage, judge rules

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