Magnum Construction Management, LLC, formerly known as Munilla Construction Management, LLC, is implementing restructuring and recapitalisation of the company through a substantially pre-negotiated Chapter 11 plan.  Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code provides for reorganisation, under which a debtor proposes a plan to keep its business alive and pay creditors over time.  

MCM said that Chapter 11 provides the opportunity for all of the claims asserted against the company, including those arising from the failure of the University City Prosperity Project to be addressed comprehensively in one forum.

The partially constructed pedestrian bridge over an eight-lane road in Miami experienced a structural failure on 15 March 2018. As a result, the 53m-long bridge fell about 5.6m onto the road. Eight vehicles below the bridge at the time of the collapse were fully or partially crushed; seven of the vehicles were occupied. One bridge worker and five vehicle occupants died; four bridge workers and four other people were injured.

“The filing of the Chapter 11 Case is not an attempt to avoid any responsibility that might be assigned to the company for the collapse of the bridge,” it said, adding that the company intends to resolve those claims as part of the restructuring.

As part of the filing, MCM is seeking relief from the court to ensure uninterrupted payment of employee wages and benefits and continuation of customer programmes.  

“We are focused on implementing a reorganisation of the business that will enable us to complete our pending projects and position the company to pursue future opportunities,” said MCM president Jorge Munilla. “The plan will also address the company’s liabilities, especially those related to the failure of the University City Prosperity Project.”

The failure of the pedestrian bridge that was being constructed to connect FIU’s Maidique Campus with the Town of Sweetwater is under National Transportation Safety Board investigation. MCM said that it will continue to cooperate with investigators.