MGM’s $800M settlement of Las Vegas mass shooting claims finalized

A Nevada judge signed off on the $800 million settlement reached between MGM and thousands of claimants Wednesday, creating the third largest victim's compensation fund for a case of any type in U.S. history, plaintiff lawyers say.

Approval by Chief Judge Linda M. Bell for the 8th Judicial District Court of Clark County, closes out 4,069 claims in the years-long litigation on the eve of the third anniversary of the Oct. 1, 2017 tragedy that occurred during a concert on the Las Vegas Strip.

MGM Resorts International agreed to pay $751 million through its insurers. The hotel company will directly pay $49 million.

The shootings occurred during the Route 91 Harvest music festival outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. The gunman killed 60 people and injured more than 800 before killing himself. He discharged into the crowd more than 1,000 rounds from his 32nd floor suite at the Mandalay Bay hotel.

"With this settlement MGM exhausted its insurance limit of $751 million, which weighs in favor of a finding that the settlement was reached in good faith," Bell wrote in her order. "The parties engaged in hard-fought litigation, reviewed extensive records and evaluated their respective risks in continued litigation before reaching settlement." Sheppard et al v. Mandalay Bay LLC; MGM Resorts Festival Grounds LLC, et al., A-18-769752 (N.V., filed Feb. 16, 2018).

"We're very happy today that the court finally approved the settlement," said Daniel S. Robinson, partner at Robinson Calcagnie Inc. He and senior partner Mark P. Robinson represented more than a third of the claimants.

Robinson Calcagnie, Inc. partner Daniel S. Robinson, with Co-Leads Mark P. Robinson, Jr. and Kevin Boyle of Panish Shea & Boyle, responding to questions about the $800 million Route 91 Shooting settlement with MGM and its insurers. (Photo courtesy of the Robinson Calcagnie, Inc.)

"It's been three years of hard-fought litigation, negotiation and finally, a settlement through the court-appointed settlement administrators," Robinson said. "We just hope this helps our clients and all other victims and families find some sense of closure and healing."

Robinson also extended his gratitude to two other firms who helped secure the settlement: Panish Shea & Boyle LLP and partner Robert Eglet of Las Vegas-based Eglet Adams.

Panish Shea & Boyle represented about 600 cases, including 20 wrongful death claims and many serious gunshot and other injury cases.

"This is truly a historic settlement," said partner Kevin R. Boyle. "My firm has been honored to represent the brave victims of this horrific event," Boyle said. "They include children who lost their parents, parents who lost their children and many people left devastated by life-altering physical and emotional injuries. We hope this settlement can provide them with some relief. We also hope that the precedent set by this settlement will lead to real change to deter mass shooting events in the future."

Partners Bethany W. Kristovich, Brad D. Brian and Michael R. Doyen of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP represented MGM. They referred a request for comment to their client.

Debra DeShong, spokesperson for MGM Resorts, said, "We are grateful that the decision brings families, victims and the community closer to closure. It is especially meaningful that the decision comes one day before the third anniversary of the incident, a time of great sadness and reflection."

The claimants and MGM announced the settlement figure in October 2019 and spent nearly a year finalizing how the money would be allocated. The initial lawsuits were filed in California and Nevada two years ago, accusing the hotel of negligence for allowing the killer to bring a large cache of firearms into his hotel room.

MGM initially denied liability, and filed complaints for declaratory relief aiming to consolidate the lawsuits into a multi-district litigation. The hotel also sought liability relief under the Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002, also known as the Safety Act. The act shields companies certified by the Department of Homeland Security from liability for acts of terrorism.

Neutrals Lou Meisinger of Los Angeles and Jennifer Togliatti of Las Vegas helped the parties reach settlement.