MGM Resorts agrees to settlement in Las Vegas shooting

MGM Resorts International said Thursday it will pay up to $800 million to settle litigation in connection with the Oct. 1, 2017, Mandalay Bay country music festival shooting that killed 58 people and wounded hundreds of others.

The resort said in a statement it had reached a settlement with counsel representing “substantially all” of the plaintiffs in connection with the shooting.

It said the total settlement amount is expected to be between $735 million and $800 million, depending upon the number of claimants who choose to participate in the settlement. The entire process is expected to be completed by late 2020.

The statement said the settlement will be funded by MGM Resorts’ insurers, with a minimum of $735 million. MGM has previously reported it has insurance coverage of $751 million, said the statement.

Under the settlement agreement, the parties will dismiss and release all pending litigation. The proposed settlement is not an admission of liability by MGM Resorts, according to the statement.

On June 19, MGM Resorts filed suit against Zurich American Insurance Co. in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, charging the insurer had failed to comply with a defense cost payment agreement in connection with the shooting. That litigation is ongoing.

In the shooting, Stephen Paddock had opened fire on the concert from his 32nd-floor hotel room in Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts’ Mandalay Bay Resort, killing the concert attendees and injuring others at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival before killing himself.

The incident was the deadliest mass shooting by a lone gunman in U.S. history. Mr. Paddock’s motivation remains a mystery.

MGM Resorts Chairman Jim Murren said in the statement, "Our goal has always been to resolve these matters so our community and the victims and their families can move forward in the healing process. This agreement with the Plaintiffs' Counsel is a major step, and one that we hoped for a long time would be possible.

“We have always believed that prolonged litigation around these matters is in no one's best interest. It is our sincere hope that this agreement means that scenario will be avoided."

Robert Eglet, a lead plaintiffs counsel with Eglet Adams law firm in Las Vegas, said in the statement, "Today's agreement marks a milestone in the recovery process for the victims of the horrifying events of 1 October.

"While nothing will be able to bring back the lives lost or undo the horrors so many suffered on that day, this settlement will provide fair compensation for thousands of victims and their families.”