Victims of the October 1st shooting in Las Vegas have filed five different lawsuits in Los Angeles Superior Court. The plaintiffs are against the hotel’s operators and the festival’s organizers. One of the suits also mentions the killer’s real estate as one of the defendants.
The lawsuit was filed in California because nearly all the plaintiffs are residents of the state or had been treated there. The event organizer, Live Nation Entertainment Inc. is also a California based company. The largest of the five lawsuits were filed by 450 individuals who comprised of eyewitnesses and those injured during the shooting.
Inadequate Security
On October 1, Stephen Paddock fired into a crowd that had gathered for the Harvest Festival from the Mandalay Bay Hotel’s 32nd floor in Las Vegas. The shooting cited as the worst in America’s modern history, left 58 people dead and scores injured.
The victims of the shooting accused MGM Resort International and its subsidiary, Mandalay Corp, that own and managed the hotel of failing to monitor the activities of Stephen Paddock. The lawsuits also accuse the MGM and its branch of not offering proper training to their security personnel.
The festival goers accuse live Nation Entertainment of failing to provide adequate exits from the venue. It is also faulted for not training its staff for an emergency. The Plaintiffs claim that had Live Nation done these two, the number of deaths and injuries would have been reduced significantly.
The Killer’s Estate
Stephen Paddock was reportedly a wealthy individual believed to have owned multimillion-dollar worth real estate investments in California and Texas. The Plaintiffs sued his estate for battery and assault.
Previous Lawsuits
Several lawsuits had been filed over the mass shooting. Paige Gasper, a college student, filed the first one which he later dismissed voluntarily.
Most of the previous lawsuits mentioned Slide Fire Solutions as one of the defendants. Slide Fire is the manufacturer of the bump stock device that the shooter used to achieve a nearly automatic firing rate. However, none of the five lawsuits mentions the firm.
According to lawyer Muhammad Aziz who is representing the plaintiffs, the focus of these cases is venue and hotels security not the right to own arms.
