MGM Resorts International will pay up to $800 million to settle pending litigation with survivors of the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, the company announced Thursday. The settlement comes two years to the week after a gunman in the Mandalay Bay hotel, which MGM owns, killed 58 people and injured hundreds in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
"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, the lead counsel for the plaintiffs.
The total payout is expected to be between $735 million and $800 million, depending on how many claims are filed, and should be completed by the end of 2020.
Scores of survivors and bereaved families sued MGM for neglecting security in the Mandalay, where a 64-year-old gunman opened fire from his 32nd floor hotel room onto a crowd of concertgoers below. The shooter fired over 1,000 rounds of ammunition before taking his own life, according to police.
MGM initially fought the litigation, claiming that the hotel was protected by federal law that shields companies from related liabilities.
Yet on Thursday, Jim Murren, MGM’s chairman and CEO, said that “prolonged litigation around these matters is in no one's best interest” and that he hoped that the settlement meant an end to the lawsuits. “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,” Murren said.
MGM added in a statement that plaintiffs who choose to participate in the settlement will agree to dismiss all pending litigation. The settlement is also not an admission of liability by MGM.
Eglet praised MGM for “good corporate citizenship on their part” and said that the settlement is the “best outcome” for the plaintiffs. "Today's agreement marks a milestone in the recovery process for the victims of the horrifying events of 1 October," he added.
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