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LAS VEGAS – MGM Resorts International Tuesday criticized hundreds of survivors of the Las Vegas shooting, who are being sued by the casino operator, and may choose to charge the money that will be used to serve them a charity.
In July, the company sued over 1,900 victims of the October 1 shootings on one of its properties and tries to warn them of the 90-day delay.
MGM told victims' lawyers that it preferred to donate to charity rather than spending money to pay people who would serve legal advice.
"The money spent on a personal treatment service – up to $ 250 per person – could be better directed to do good," wrote MGM's lawyers in the letter shared with the Associated Press.
MGM offered to donate $ 500 for each person who gives up the service or authorizes a lawyer to accept the service on their behalf, but a victim's lawyer quickly described this as "nonsense".
Lawyer Robert Eglet, a member of a group representing most of the victims, said that the company was simply trying to "spin" its attempt to save money by meaning legal advice.
"It will cost GMM much more than $ 250 to serve them," said Eglet. "It's a more outrageous conduct on their part."
Serving defendants is a crucial step in a civil trial. He informs the defendant that a lawsuit has been filed against him, provides him with a copy of the complaint and starts running 21 days to respond to the lawsuit.
Eglet said companies representing most of the victims were not allowed to accept the legal notice. This would require MGM to find and serve each of the 1,977 people prosecuted.
Letters explaining the offer of charitable donations were sent Tuesday to 37 lawyers representing victims.
As part of MGM's offer, each defendant would choose a charity that would support the survivors or families of victims killed and the donation would be made on his behalf.
If the offers are not accepted, "we will treat the complaints personally with courtesy and respect," said Debra DeShong, MGM spokeswoman.
The casino operator sued for the purpose of having a federal judge declare that he had no liability to the survivors or families of the victims killed under a law adopted after the September 11 terrorist attacks. The law limits liability when a company or group uses services approved by the US Department of Homeland Security. MGM submits that this responsibility is exempt from liability because the security provider for the outside site was certified by the federal government at the time of the attack.
Twenty-two thousand people went to a country music festival in an MGM-owned outdoor venue, when a high-stakes gambler broke the windows of his 32nd-floor casino suite and began to shoot. The gunman killed 58 people and wounded more than 800 before committing suicide.
MGM insisted that its non-money-hungry lawsuits are designed to avoid years of costly litigation.
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