A judge has ruled that four survivors of the Aurora massacre have to pay a movie theater chain close to $700,000.
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The most galling part of how the court case was handled however, was that in May 2012, roughly a month before the shooting took place, theater chains nationwide were warned by the Department of Homeland Security about the potential for an attack. The four holdout plaintiffs lost their premises liability case when an Arapahoe County jury ruled for Cinemark in May. One plaintiff, who lost two children in the shooting and was left paralyzed, refused to accept the settlement, and the deal fell through.
A judge has ordered those four to pay the third largest theater chain in the country $700,000 for legal bills. The jury in the civil case took the side of the theater, stating that this was unpredictable -and given the extent of his weaponry and protective gear, extra security may not have done much.
It’s been more than four years since a mass shooting at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater left 12 dead and 70 others injured.
After eight hours of negotiating the deal, one plaintiff rejected it. The money would have been split among 41 plaintiff, the Times reported.
Cinemark asked for money from the victims after it was found to not be liable.
The plaintiffs knew if they declined the settlement they could be responsible for Cinemark’s court fees. “We knew they were at fault”, survivor James Weaver told the Times.
In Colorado, the Los Angeles Times explains, the victor in civil cases can go after money to pay the cost of the court time.
A first group of victims had launched a suit against Cinemark.
Weaver’s vision briefly blurred.
He removed himself as a plaintiff immediately.
In that case, a NY attorney representing 27 people paid one expert $22,000 to testify.
Marcus Weaver was in the theater the night of the shooting.
James Holmes, the shooter, was convicted in 2014 and will spend the rest of his life in prison.
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Weaver told the L.A. Times that this means things aren’t going to change and movie theaters aren’t going to be better protected against future shootings.
