This Is the 3rd-Largest Victims Compensation Fund in US History

MGM Resorts settles with victims of Las Vegas massacre
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 3, 2019 1:41 PM CDT
MGM Settles With Vegas Massacre Victims
In this Oct. 3, 2017, file photo, windows are broken at the Mandalay Bay resort and casino in Las Vegas, the room from where Stephen Craig Paddock fired on a nearby music festival, killing 58 and injuring hundreds on Oct. 1.   (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Almost exactly two years after the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history, MGM Resorts announced a settlement with the victims of the Las Vegas massacre. MGM owns the Mandalay Bay, where the gunman was staying when he shot people attending the Route 91 country music festival on the street below, killing 58 and wounding hundreds more. In a press release, MGM says the settlement, which is not an admission of liability, will total at least $735 million but could reach up to $800 million depending how many choose to participate. MGM says the settlement, which is expected to be finalized by late next year, was negotiated between the company and "counsel representing substantially all plaintiffs in litigation involving the October 1, 2017, shooting." All participating parties will dismiss pending lawsuits against MGM, per a press release from a law office involved.

As CNBC and NPR report, hundreds of survivors had sued MGM for failure to adequately monitor the shooter's activities and failure to utilize adequate security measures since the gunman was able to stockpile a massive amount of weapons and ammo at the hotel. MGM then sued more than 1,000 victims and relatives arguing those lawsuits and other potential claims should be dismissed because it was using anti-terrorism technology at the time of the attack; the company argued that a federal law passed in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks shielded it from liability because of its use of such technology. MGM's lawsuits will also be dismissed as a result of the settlement. A lawyer leading the talks says he represents almost 2,500 people who say they were affected by the shooting, and that "this settlement will provide fair compensation for thousands of victims and their families." (An expert says this will be the third-largest victims compensation fund in US history.)

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