Five plaintiffs who were displaced from their Dallas homes after a construction crane toppled onto an apartment complex in 2019 reached a settlement with the real estate developer and the crane rental company mid-trial Thursday.
Lawyers representing Bigge Crane & Rigging Co. and the three Greystar business entities named in the suit told Dallas County Court at Law Judge Melissa Bellan that the confidential resolution extends to all remaining plaintiffs.
More than 20 people brought lawsuits against the companies after the crane collapsed on Elan City Lights apartments on June 9, 2019, during a powerful storm that carried winds over 70 mph.
The parents of a woman killed in her apartment took the companies to trial in April 2023. That jury found only Greystar responsible and awarded $860 million – the second-highest Texas jury verdict of that year. Greystar is appealing.
Greystar was represented in the wrongful death case by Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith. After that trial, Greystar brought in Tillotson Johnson & Patton. Greystar and Bigge have since settled with plaintiffs who were physically injured. Prior to Wednesday’s settlement, two groups of plaintiffs who sued for mental anguish damages remained. The final trial was slated for November, according to court records.
News of the settlement was delivered one week into what was expected to be a three-week trial. For three days, jurors heard from the plaintiffs’ safety expert, who concluded Greystar bore the blame.
Residents of the apartment complex, represented by Cory Itkin of Arnold & Itkin and Michael P. Lyons of Lyons & Simmons, were expected to testify Thursday.
The plaintiffs were glad to have their day in court and to resolve the case, Lyons told The Texas Lawbook after the trial.
“The plaintiffs and their families are happy to put this behind them and move on with their lives after a very tragic event,” Lyons said.
Lawyers for Greystar and Bigge declined to comment.
Investigators determined that the crane blew over because it had not been “weathervaned,” meaning its long, heavy arm hadn’t been unlocked from its vertical tower. As a result, the arm fought against the wind, instead of rotating with the wind.
The crane operator has insisted in a deposition, and during his testimony in the wrongful death trial, that he did weathervane the crane before leaving the construction site the day before the storm. But investigators and lawyers say otherwise, and instead, lawyers argued over whether the operator was an employee of Greystar or Bigge at the time.
A critical issue was whether, under the lease between the two companies, the crane operator was an employee of Greystar or Bigge at the time of the incident.
The lease specified the operator was a “borrowed servant,” or an employee who was loaned to Greystar for the project. While the operator remained on Bigge’s payroll, the company argued he was under the control and supervision of Greystar.
The three Greystar entities named were Greystar Development & Construction LP, Gabriella Tower LLC and Greystar Development & Construction LP-Gabriella Nationwide Contractor Series.
Greystar was represented by Jeffrey Tillotson, Jonathan Patton, Kassi Yukevich, Mollie Mallory and Anne Johnson.
Bigge was represented by Courtney Kenisky and Clayton Callen of Bowman and Brooke. Bigge is represented on appeal by R. Russell Hollenbeck of Wright Close & Barger.