Attorneys Monday announced a series of lawsuits filed in Los Angeles on behalf victims of the mass shooting at the Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival, at which 58 people were killed and hundreds others wounded.
Attorney Mo Aziz and Chad Pinkerton, both of Texas, said the lawsuits targeted not only the estate of gunman Stephen Paddock, but also Los Angeles- based concert promoter Live Nation and MGM Resorts International and Mandalay Group.
Paddock opened fire on the outdoor concert Oct. 1 from the 32nd floor of his room at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, which is owned by MGM Resorts. Paddock killed himself as law enforcement descended on his room.
The lawsuits announced Monday were filed on behalf of 450 victims and victims’ relatives.
“We all enjoy large venues and go to those venues,” attorney Chad Pinkerton said. “We are invited to those venues by people and companies. We pay to be there, and one of the minimum things that we expect is to be safe. And what we’re going to show in this case is the defendants did not keep these people safe.”
Live Nation responded with a statement declining to comment on the lawsuit, but saying the company remains “heartbroken” for victims and their families and people “forever impacted by this senseless act of violence,” and said the firm is cooperating fully with the investigation.
MGM Resorts, in a statement to NBC4, said such lawsuits “are not unexpected, and we intend to defend ourselves against them.”
According to the attorneys, the plaintiffs in the five lawsuits include spouses of Christopher Roybal and Rocio Guillen-Jaksha, who were killed in the shooting.
One of the lawsuits was filed on behalf of the family of Corona resident Kristina Terrill Staples, 34, who is the daughter of Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Greg Terrill.
Kristina Staples remained in a coma for several weeks after being shot, the suit states. Paddock had used his status as a high-stakes gambler to use a service elevator to stock weapons and ammunition in his suite during the days before the shooting, according to the lawsuit.
He also installed security cameras on his hotel room door, on a service cart and in the hallway outside his room, the suit states.
“Paddock used the cameras as surveillance and security to thwart law enforcement and prolong his shooting spree,” the suit states.
The hotel was negligent for no taking precautions to prevent Paddock from bringing in the weapons, for not discovering his surveillance cameras and for not finding out earlier that he had broken the suite windows from which he opened fire, the suit alleges.
Live Nation was negligent for not providing adequate escape routes with proper markings and for not training their personnel on how to handle a terrorist attack or similar emergency, according to the lawsuit.
–City News Service