MGM Resorts to pay up to $800 million in Vegas massacre settlement
MGM Resorts agreed to paid up to $800 million in a settlement with plaintiffs who alleged the company was liable in the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, lawyers said Thursday.
Stephen Paddock shot and killed 58 people, injuring more than 800, from the 32nd floor of MGM Resorts' Mandalay Bay.
Paddock, 64, brought a massive stockpile of weapons in bags and luggage into his hotel room before firing more than 1,100 rounds of ammunition on a crowd at a country music festival. The massacre was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
FILE - In this April 1, 2018, file photo, people carry flowers as they walk near the Mandalay Bay hotel and casino during a vigil for victims and survivors of a mass shooting in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
MGM's insurers will to pay the settlement, worth between $735 million and $800 million, by late 2020, the lawyers said.
"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," Jim Murren, chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts, said in a statement. "This agreement with the Plaintiffs’ Counsel is a major step, and one that we hoped for a long time would be possible. We have always believed that prolonged litigation around these matters is in no one’s best interest. It is our sincere hope that this agreement means that scenario will be avoided."
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MGM | MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL | 37.28 | -0.24 | -0.64% |
With the settlement, the plaintiffs agreed to drop lawsuits that alleged that MGM caused physical and psychological harm by allowing Paddock to stockpile the weapons.
A court will appoint an independent claims administrator to divvy up money among the plaintiffs.
"While nothing will be able to bring back the lives lost or undo the horrors so many suffered on that day, this settlement will provide fair compensation for thousands of victims and their families," said Robert Eglet, a lead plaintiffs' attorney. "MGM Resorts is a valued member of the Las Vegas community and this settlement represents good corporate citizenship on their part."
MGM has announced plans to convert the now-shuttered concert space to parking while it plans a community center and a place to remember victims.
FILE - 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 Loc
Authorities have still not determined a motive for Paddock's attack.
Las Vegas remembered the two-year anniversary of the shooting Tuesday by reading the names of each victim.
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"No anniversary is more terrible than the one that recalls how your neighbors and guests were so wantonly slain, even while their hearts were singing out in joy as they listened to music with their friends and loved ones," said Joe Robbins, whose 20-year-old son Quinton was killed.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.