Some Aurora Theater Shooting Victims Asked To Pay Court Costs
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4)- Some victims of the Aurora theater shooting have been asked to pick up the tab for nearly $700,000 in court costs to Cinemark.
This comes after the victims unsuccessfully sued the theater chain.
In May, a jury was asked to decide if Cinemark was responsible in some way for the mass shooting due to the inadequate security at the midnight premier of the Batman movie, "A Dark Knight Rises."
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The victims involved in the civil suits felt Cinemark could have done more to prevent the massacre, such as having security guards on duty and an alarm on the exit door.
"Cinemark had 83 of their theaters had additional security," said the plaintiffs' attorney Mark Bern in May.
A state court jury determined Cinemark was not at fault. Now the theater company is asking those who sued them to pay more than $699,000 in trial costs for such things as expert witnesses and travel.
CBS4 Legal Analyst Karen Steinhauser said it isn't an unusual request.
"I don't think it makes them look bad, the law is very clear that the winning party has the right to request reasonable court costs," said Steinhauser.
Cinemark's attorney had no comment on the payment request. In the past, he has said the attack was unforeseen and unpredictable.
"We remain very, very sorry for the events that happened at Cinemark," said Cinemark attorney Kevin Taylor in May.
A federal court judge also found it was the gunman James Holmes, not Cinemark, who was responsible for the massacre.