Owners of MGM Resorts International have filed federal lawsuits against the many victims of last year’s Las Vegas mass shooting, in a bid to avoid any liability for the injuries or deaths that occurred.
MGM, the owners of both Mandalay Bay and the Route 91 Harvest festival venue where the shooting took place, argued that the victim’s claims against them “must be dismissed,” according to the lawsuit (pdf) filed on July 13, in Nevada and California.
The corporate giants sued over 1,000 victims of the shooting.
“Plaintiffs have no liability of any kind to Defendants,” the complaint stated.
The suit argues that security for the concert (provided by Contemporary Services Corporation) was certified by the Secretary of Homeland Security. Complains stated that the security had taken all actions needed “for protecting against and responding to acts of mass injury and destruction.”
Stephen Paddock, the lone gunman, killed 58 people and wounded hundreds more on the night of Oct. 1, firing down on a crowd of concert-goers from his Mandalay Bay hotel suite. He later shot and killed himself as police approached his room.
The company also made reference to legislation, known as the “SAFETY Act,” that provides liability protection to any company that uses antiterrorist technology, which the suit states they used as part of security provided by Contemporary Services Corporation.
“Paddock’s mass attack meets the requirements of the SAFETY Act as set forth in the statute and the Regulations promulgated by the Department of Homeland Security,” the suit states.
“The Federal Court is an appropriate venue for these cases and provides those affected with the opportunity for a timely resolution,” said Debra DeShong, a spokeswoman for MGM Resorts in a statement on July 16. “Years of drawn out litigation and hearings are not in the best interest of victims, the community and those still healing.”
Robert Eglet, a Las Vegas attorney who has represented some of the victims of the shooting said the grounds of the lawsuit are “obscure.” He called the complaints a “blatant display of judge shopping.”
“It’s just really sad that they would stoop to this level,” he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
From The Epoch Times