The collapse of a 12-story Miami condo building has left 4 people dead and more than 150 feared dead as search and rescue efforts continue ... but a lawsuit's already been filed over the disaster.
A class-action suit has been brought against the Champlain Towers Condominium Association following Thursday's tragedy in South Florida, seeking to "compensate the victims of this unfathomable loss."
According to the legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... "repair needs had been identified" concerning certain structural elements with the building, but allegedly those repairs were not done.
The condo association is accused of failing to protect the people and property "through the exercise of ordinary care, safety measures, and oversight" that could have prevented the catastrophic collapse.
The suit seeks more than $5 million in damages.
As we reported ... the building's collapse destroyed at least 70 units of the 135-unit structure. At least 4 people were killed, and as many as 159 people are unaccounted for.
So far, the authorities have not released a possible cause for the collapse, but there are reports that the building has been sinking into the ground since the '90s.
Other experts believe the salty ocean air could have led to the erosion of the building's support system, but so far ... these are just theories.