'No Amount Of Money's Gonna Fix It': Judge Approves $800M Las Vegas Shooting Settlement
CORONA (CBSLA) — A judge Wednesday approved an $800 million settlement in a lawsuit against MGM International Resorts over the 2017 mass shooting at a country music festival — just one day before the third anniversary.
"It's sad to talk about even to this day," Brent Coleman said.
Coleman was a close friend of Tommy Day Jr., who was killed along with his friend Austin Davis, when a gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay during a concert on Oct. 1, 2017.
"He was just larger than life," Coleman said.
The settlement provides a range of awards for 4,400 victims as well as relatives of victims.
"It's the first settlement in U.S. history for a mass shooting," attorney Kevin Boyle said.
Boyle said the companies acknowledged no liability in the settlement, but the hope was that the precedent is set and will have other companies rethink safety to help prevent future mass shootings.
"Perhaps when certain companies are feeling it in the pocket book, maybe they'll put some heat on the right people," Boyle said.
Of the $800 million, the company's insurance will cover $751 million, with MGM covering the remaining $49 million, but Coleman said it was not about the money.
"No amount of money's gonna fix it," he said. "I honestly don't think it matters one bit to the Day family."
Day's family and friends want people to honor the memory of the victims by doing good in the world. For them, that took the form of starting the Tommy's Angel's Foundation — a nonprofit that has already raised more than $100,000 to help children fight cancer and provide college scholarships to athletes.
Retired judges still have to determine the payout amounts with millions likely going to the most severely injured. The money is expected to make it to the families by the end of the year.
"They would much rather have Tommy here," Coleman said.