MGM Resorts International, the hotel conglomerate that owns the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, has filed federal lawsuits against more than 1,000 victims of last year’s mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the suits contend that MGM should not be held liable for any death, injury or damage that occurred on October 1, 2017 when a gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay onto the festival grounds below, killing 58 people. Nearly 1,000 people were injured in the attack, the largest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
MGM, which owns the fairgrounds in addition to the hotel, is not seeking damages from the defendants, all of whom are victims of the mass shooting. Instead, it is hoping a federal judge will dismiss any current or future lawsuits brought by victims against the company.
In November, a group of more than 450 victims filed suit in California and Nevada against MGM Resorts, a security firm hired to manage the festival, and other companies, alleging negligence. MGM vowed to defend itself in court but said at the time it was holding off from making legal response in deference to grieving families.
“These kinds of lawsuits are not unexpected and we intend to defend ourselves against them,” the company said in a statement. “That said, out of respect for the victims, we will give our response through the appropriate legal channels.”
According to a lawyer representing several of the defendants — who, not to belabor the point, were victims of a mass shooting — the legal channels MGM has chosen to pursue are anything but appropriate.
“I’ve never seen a more outrageous thing, where they sue the victims in an effort to find a judge they like,” said attorney Robert Eglet in an interview with the Review-Journal. “It’s just really sad that they would stoop to this level.”
Eglet’s argument is that MGM is a Nevada-based company, and therefore any litigation belongs in a Nevada courtroom. Pursuing a federal case is a “blatant display of judge shopping,” a move he called “unethical.”
Victims of mass shootings have had mixed success in the courtroom. A 2005 law makes it virtually impossible to file a successful suit against gun manufacturers, though the parents of two victims of February’s school shooting in Parkland, Florida did file suit against a gun dealer and manufacturer in May.