Las Vegas Shooting Victims File Lawsuits Against MGM Resorts, Live Nation

Attorneys representing more than 450 victims of the Las Vegas mass shooting on Oct. 1 at the Route 91 Harvest Festival filed five new lawsuits in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Monday (Nov. 20), the LA Times reports. More than 500 people were injured during the attack.

Those named as defendants in Monday’s lawsuits included festival promoter Live Nation, Paddock’s estate, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, the hotel from which gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire on the crowd of Route 91 Harvest Festival attendees across the street, as well as Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino owner, MGM Resorts International.

Victims seeking financial compensation previously filed more than 15 lawsuits.

The suits’ plaintiffs were all Route 91 Harvest Festival attendees, as well as a few security guards working the event. More than 30 of the plaintiffs were shot, and two were family members of victims who were killed. Nearly 100 of the plaintiffs were injured from trampling, according to attorneys. The majority of the attorneys’ clients are from California, which attorneys stated as a reason for filing the suits in Los Angeles instead of Las Vegas.

The plaintiffs argue that the hotel’s operators “breached their duty of reasonable care” by not noticing Paddock was storing guns in his room and by not responding fast enough after security guard Jesus Campos was shot by Paddock before the massacre began. The victims’ attorneys also argued that the festival did not have proper exits or adequately trained employees for when the crowd began evacuating, which they said resulted in more injuries.

“The incident that took place on Oct. 1 was a terrible tragedy perpetrated by an evil man,” MGM Resorts International said in a statement. “These kinds of lawsuits are not unexpected and we intend to defend ourselves against them. That said, out of respect for the victims, we will give our response through the appropriate legal channels.”