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MGM Resorts: Court Orders $800M Payout for Mass Shooting Victims

Article by : Helen Oct 19, 2020

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MGM Resorts International Inc. has agreed to pay up to $800 million to victims of the 2017 mass shooting that occurred outside its Mandalay Bay Casino & Resort in Las Vegas. Legal experts analyzing the situation have dubbed it the largest settlement of its kind stemming from a mass shooting.

The claimants include more than 4,000 survivors and relatives of those killed in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

According to a comprehensive analysis of the massacre, officials at MGM Resorts International, the owner of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, announced the settlement in a statement, saying that the process of disbursing the settlement will be completed by late 2020. While MGM Resorts made sure to claim no liability in the settlement, the company will pay $49 million, while its insurance companies will pay $751 million.

Our goal has always been to resolve these matters so our community and the victims and their families can move forward in the healing process. This agreement with the Plaintiffs’ Counsel is a major step, and one that we hoped for a long time would be possible. Prolonged litigation would have served no purpose and was happy a better outcome was agreed upon by all the parties involved.

On October 1, 2017, the day of the Las Vegas mass shooting, Stephen Paddock fired into a crowd of 22,000 outdoor concert-goers from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay, killing 58 innocent people and injuring hundreds more before he killed himself.

A few days leading to the massacre, Paddock gambled and interacted with casino and hotel staff, who helped him carry over 20 pieces of luggage up to his room that contained thousands of rounds of ammunition and semiautomatic rifles.

The lawsuits held MGM Resorts liable due to negligence in security lapses, specifically, failing to notice a killer stockpiling weapons in his room.

Paige Gasper, a 23-year-old, who like many of the survivors, was shot in the chest, said they hoped the settlement would make companies more vigilant in their operations.
Another survivor, Jason McMillan, a 37-year-old Riverside County sheriff’s deputy, who was shot and paralyzed in the massacre, said, “The scars and injuries from that night can never be erased.” McMillan added that he was glad they had reached a resolution so that they can all move on and focus on the future.

The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Attorney Robert Eglet, whose representation helped influence the final verdict, spent a year coordinating the settlement with legal firms, lawyers, and clients in at least 10 states. He said that the amounts to be disbursed will be determined by two retired judges and that he is anticipating payments to begin going out by the end of the year.

Eglet remarked, “There’ve been no objections, and we expect no appeals. We’ll send out notices of the order. After 30 days, the $800 million will be deposited.” He made sure to mention that the case will only be dismissed when the full amount has been deposited by the casino. An independent claims regulator will be appointed by a court to disburse the money from the settlement fund. Hopefully, the payout process will be completed by late 2020, so the victims can finally move on with their lives and find closure.

Mark Robinson Jr., a California attorney representing Fraser and more than one-third of the shooting victims also added, “Our firm and the other leadership firms hope it helps victims and their families find some sense of closure and healing.”