A judge has approved an $800 Million settlement for victims of the 2017 mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, making the decision just days before the tragedy’s three-year anniversary.
Fifty eight people died and hundreds more were injured when a gunman opened fire on the Las Vegas country music festival, while headliner Jason Aldean was onstage. The gunman used an arsenal of weapons and fired from his hotel room in the nearby Mandalay Bay resort and casino, and $50 Million of the settlement will come from Mandalay Bay owner MGM Resorts International, although the firm does not need to admit any wrongdoing. The remaining $750 Million is being covered by liability insurance.
The settlement follows a class action lawsuit brought by victims and their families, a number which now numbers more than 4,000 plaintiffs, according to CNN. It was first announced back in 2019 but finally approved on Wednesday (September 30), and will now go through a 30-day appeal process before being divided among the lawsuit’s plaintiffs. Two retired judges agreed upon by both sides will decide how the money is split up.
“We are hopeful it will be completed in a manner that we will be able to disperse the victims’ funds before the end of the year,” plaintiff attorney Robert Eglet told CNN.
