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MGM Resorts International, facing a barrage of lawsuits over the shooting, responded Friday by naming more than 1,000 shootings victims as defendants in two trials on its own. The entertainment giant is not asking for pecuniary damages but, citing federal law, is asking the courts to protect it from lawsuits filed by victims.
In a statement to CNN, MGM Resorts called the shootout "heinous act" and said his trials, filed Friday in the US district courts for Nevada and central California, are intended to benefit the victims and help them heal.
"The Federal Court is an appropriate place for these cases," said Debra DeShong, spokesman for MGM Resorts. "Years of litigation and reparations. Endless hearings are not in the best interests of the victims, the community and those who are still healing. "
Another MGM spokesperson declined to answer any other questions
Eglet, a Las Vegas lawyer representing about 1,000 victims, told CNN on Tuesday:
MGM Resorts International is the parent company of the corporation that owns Mandalay Bay and the Las Vegas Village, the festival site.
MGM hired a provider, Contemporary Services Corp., to ensure the safety of the event. By recruiting CSC, whose services have been approved by the Department of Homeland Security "to protect against and respond to acts of mass and destruction," MGM claims that it is cleared of any responsibility in shooting.
Hundreds of lawsuits
Since the attack, more than 2,500 people have filed lawsuits or threatened to sue MGM Resorts International and its affiliates, according to MGM.
The lawsuits filed by the resort society in Nevada and California designate more than 1,000 of these victims, many of whom have been voluntarily dismissed, apparently with the intention of reclassifying them later.
"We are shocked," said Catherine Lombardo, a lawyer representing hundreds of victims, told CNN the network of HLN sisters. She added that MGM is "absolutely responsible".
The company was negligent in letting Paddock enter the hotel with so many weapons "and up to the 32nd floor," said Lombardo
. a victim advocacy group did not immediately succeed. [Traduction]
"The actual prosecutions and prosecution threatened by the defendants involve the services provided by the CSC because they involve security at the concert, including training, intervention of the accused. emergency, evacuation and exit adequacy, "say the lawsuits.
This sentence is important because MGM hopes that a judge will agree that a 2002 law called the Supporting Technologies Support Anti-Terrorism Act, or SAFETY Act, protects the hotel owner. and the concert hall against CSC's responsibility. 19659006] Congress passed the SECURITY Act after September 11 to encourage the private sector to deploy security technologies in civilian environments. The companies that provided such products and services were reluctant to do so for fear of being responsible for a terrorist attack, but the 2002 law limited liability and allowed companies to assert a government contract defense for claims arising from terrorism.
A defense based on a government contract is most often used, but not exclusively, by military contractors and may, in some cases, provide immunity from liability.
The victims' lawyers, Eglet and Lombardo, contend that MGM will not succeed in invoking the Security Act
"It was not designed for that," said Lombardo
. If MGM wanted to be certified by the Security Act, they could have done it, but they did not do it, "he said.
Was it terror?
Certified services provided by CSC, the Security Act applies to the Las Vegas shootings, according to the lawsuits. In this case, MGM's lawyers assert that the law and other regulations "state that any claim against the MGM parties must be dismissed."
"If the defendants were injured by (the assault ), as they claim, they were inevitably injured both because (the shooter) pulled out of his window and because they remained in the line of fire at the concert.These claims inevitably involve security at the concert – and may result in loss for CSC, "they say.
CSC provided security services, access control and crowd management for the festival.He also inspected employees, inspected the premises and developed emergency and evacuation procedures, according to the prosecution.
They also say that the SECURITY ACT defines terrorism as an illegal act that harms a person in the United States, using weapons designed for mass casualties.
