********* — Casino giant MGM Resorts told federal regulators Thursday it might pay up to US$800 million to settle liability lawsuits stemming from the 2017 **** ******** in ********* – the deadliest in modern U.S. history.
“The company believes it is reasonably possible that a settlement will be reached” by next May, it told the Securities and Exchange Commission in a quarterly report.
MGM Resorts also said it has $751 million in insurance to pay toward a settlement.
However, a lawyer handling mediation talks for plaintiffs called it premature for the corporate owner of ******** Bay resort to report a possible settlement range between $735 million and $800 million.
“We’re not even close to resolving all the terms and issues before we have a settlement,” attorney Robert Eglet said.
He said he represents about 4,200 claimants, including those who have sued in Nevada, California and other states, and people who have not formally filed for damages.
“It’s true that a settlement is possible,” Eglet said. “But I will tell you it’s not probable. Nothing is signed. We have a long way to go before we have an agreement.”
Eglet said talks are ongoing with MGM Resorts attorneys, and that he was aware the company would make its report to the SEC.
Eglet said he reviewed the SEC document on Thursday and agreed that a settlement should be reached within a year.
Company spokeswoman Debra DeShong said progress has been made after multiple mediation sessions over several months.
The goal is “to resolve these matters so that all impacted can move forward in their healing process,” she said.
MGM Resorts has defended itself against liability claims, outraging ******* last summer when it filed lawsuits against more than 1,900 people in a bid to consolidate claims in one federal court.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensation for a range of physical and psychological harm after a shooter rained ******* from a ******** Bay suite into an open-air ******* crowd, ******* 58 people and injuring more than 800.
They accuse MGM Resorts, which owns the high-rise hotel and owned the ******* venue across ********* Boulevard, of failing to adequately protect the 22,000 people attending the ******** Harvest Festival.
They point to findings that the shooter, Stephen *******, spent several days amassing an arsenal of *******-style ******* and ammunition in the two-room suite.
******* was a 64-year-old retired accountant and high-stakes video poker player.
****** and the FBI say he acted alone, firing out the windows with **** equipped with rapid-**** bump stocks then ******* himself before officers reached his room. ******* didn’t leave a note or a manifesto, and authorities closed investigations saying they didn’t identify a motive.
