Judge appoints mediator in Hard Rock Hotel collapse lawsuits

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A New Orleans judge has brought in a mediator to try to work out a settlement with hundreds of people who claim damage from a hotel construction collapse nearly three years ago. Plaintiffs say they were injured, a loved one killed, or their business damaged when upper stories of a planned Hard Rock Hotel collapsed on Oct. 12, 2019. WWL-TV reports that there’s been little movement in the  cases for about two years, and Civil District Judge Kern Reese has appointed John Perry Jr., of Baton Rouge, as special master to work out a settlement. He will negotiate with a committee of 13 plaintiffs’ attorneys and with the hotel’s developers and construction contractors.