Four survivors of the 2012 Aurora movie theater massacre have been ordered to pay Cinemark $700,000 in legal fees after a judge ruled the theater chain was not liable for the shooting.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the survivors had filed a federal lawsuit against the theater chain, alleging the Aurora theater’s lax security protocols led to the July 20, 2012 shooting attack in which 12 people were killed and 70 injured after gunman James Holmes opened fire during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises.
In May, a judge had reportedly warned the more than three-dozen plaintiffs in the suit that he was prepared to rule that Cinemark was not liable for the deaths, as the theater could not have predicted what Holmes would do. The judge reportedly urged the parties to settle, and Cinemark offered a settlement: $150,000, to be split between the 41 plaintiffs.
But four of the victims — including one who reportedly lost a child in the shooting, became paralyzed and lost another child she was carrying— remained on.
I think this a proper verdict. It's not the theater's fault. It's not the gun's fault. It's the shooter's fault.
Cinemark won at trial, and, in June, submitted a $700,000 legal bill. A judge this week ruled that the four plaintiffs who had remained on were liable to repay it.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the survivors had filed a federal lawsuit against the theater chain, alleging the Aurora theater’s lax security protocols led to the July 20, 2012 shooting attack in which 12 people were killed and 70 injured after gunman James Holmes opened fire during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises.
In May, a judge had reportedly warned the more than three-dozen plaintiffs in the suit that he was prepared to rule that Cinemark was not liable for the deaths, as the theater could not have predicted what Holmes would do. The judge reportedly urged the parties to settle, and Cinemark offered a settlement: $150,000, to be split between the 41 plaintiffs.
But four of the victims — including one who reportedly lost a child in the shooting, became paralyzed and lost another child she was carrying— remained on.
I think this a proper verdict. It's not the theater's fault. It's not the gun's fault. It's the shooter's fault.
Cinemark won at trial, and, in June, submitted a $700,000 legal bill. A judge this week ruled that the four plaintiffs who had remained on were liable to repay it.
