MGM suing its victims?
In an effort to avoid liability for a mass shooting which took place in Las Vegas last October, MGM Resorts is seeking to sue over 1,000 victims to avoid their potential lawsuits.
Many shooting victims have already set out to sue MGM, accusing the company of not providing thorough security.
Stephen Paddock, the shooter, killed 58 people and wounded over 500 more.
MGM is seeking to utilize a loophole which they discovered only two weeks ago to dodge any allegations of security incompetence. After 9/11, lawmakers passed the Support Antiterrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies (Safety) Act. The law protects security services if they do not stop an act of terror, as sometimes attacks are truly out of their control.
The massive resort franchise believes that it has a strong case, as it hired a security company which was approved by the Department of Homeland Security, and the shooting was an act of terror.
MGM lawyer Michael Doyen explained that the court system has never experienced a terrorism case in which a DHS-certified security team was serviced. To succeed in the case, they will need to wait on a statement from DHS to see if the shooting was truly an act of terrorism.
Many people are outraged by this lawsuit. Shooting victim lawyer Craig Eiland stated:
“Their theory is that this security company goes to D.H.S. and gets some type of certificate, and so now MGM is immune, and everybody in the future who hires the company is immune. It’s outrageous, and that’s not what the law is, and we would all be less safe.”
It’s unclear whether or not MGM will be successful in court, but this lawsuit could pave the way for many more of the same caliber.
Featured Image via Pixabay/70154
