URS to pay $52 million in 35W case

A global settlement of about $52 million has been reached in the case against the engineers who worked on the I-35W bridge, which collapsed three years ago.

The settlement will give the plaintiffs 100 percent of their damages as previously determined by a panel of “special masters” who administered the state’s special compensation fund of about $37 million, said Minneapolis attorney Chris Messerly. The funds will be paid by the engineering firm URS, accused by the plaintiffs of negligently failing to properly evaluate the bridge’s structural integrity after it was hired by the State of Minnesota to provide engineering services.

In addition, the attorneys in a group of 17 law firms who handled the case pro bono were awarded $1.5 million, which they will donate for the construction of a memorial to the bridge victims.

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