Judge orders casino company, insurer to pay $800M to Vegas shooting victims

In this Oct. 5, 2017 file photo, a memorial displaying 58 crosses by Greg Zanis stands in Las Vegas. Each cross has the name of a victim killed during the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on Oct. 1. A day before the third anniversary of the shooting, a court ordered MGM Resorts International and its insurers to pay a total of $800 million US to more than 4,400 relatives and victims. (Mikayla Whitmore/Las Vegas Sun/Associated Press)

A court on Wednesday approved a total of $800 million US in payout cash from casino company MGM Resorts International and its insurers to more than 4,400 relatives and victims of the Las Vegas strip shooting that was the deadliest in recent U.S. history. 

The action makes final a deal announced earlier this month and settles dozens of lawsuits on the eve of the third anniversary of the shooting that killed 58 people and injured more than 850 at an open-air concert near the Mandalay Bay resort.

Las Vegas shooting left dozens dead and hundreds injured

Clark County District Court Judge Linda Bell, in her brief order, cited "near-unanimous participation in the settlement among potential claimants." 

Authorities said more than 22,000 people were attending an outdoor music festival when a gunman firing military-style weapons from windows on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay rained rapid-fire bullets into the crowd.

MGM Resorts, owner of the hotel and the concert venue, acknowledged no liability with the settlement. It will pay $49 million US, while its insurance companies will pay $751 million US.

"We are grateful that the decision brings families, victims and the community closer to closure," the company said in a statement. It noted the anniversary of the Oct. 1, 2017, event, calling it "a time of great sadness and reflection."

Payments expected by the end of the year

Memorial ceremonies are scheduled for Thursday at several venues in Las Vegas, including a reading of the names of the slain beginning at 10:05 p.m. — the time the first shots rang out.

Attorney Robert Eglet, the plaintiffs' lawyer who spent a year arranging the settlement with clients, legal firms and attorneys in at least 10 states, said amounts to be disbursed will be determined by two retired judges and he's hopeful that payments will begin going out by the end of the year.

"We'll send out notices of the order. After 30 days the $800 million will be deposited," Eglet said.

Eglet previously said that everyone involved "recognized there are no winners in long, drawn-out litigation with multiple trials where people and the community are reliving the event every time we try a case." 

A line-by-line list of victims, identified by their initials only, runs for more than 170 pages of a 225-page civil complaint filed Sept. 9 seeking compensation and punitive damages from MGM Resorts. It accused the casino company of negligence, wrongful death and liability in the 2017 shooting.

In this Oct. 1, 2017 file photo, police officers stand at the scene of a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Local police and the FBI have never determined a motive for the attack. (John Locher/Associated Press)

Millions of dollars could go to the most severely and permanently injured, Eglet said, depending on factors including age, number of dependents, type of injuries, previous and future medical treatment, and ability to work.

A minimum $5,000 US would go to each person who filed a claim for unseen injuries.

Court filings in the case don't mention the gunman, Stephen Paddock, who killed himself before police closed in. 

Las Vegas police and the FBI determined the 64-year-old retired accountant and high-stakes poker player meticulously planned the attack and acted alone. They theorized he may have sought notoriety, but said they never determined a clear motive for the attack.