$800 Million Settlement for Route 91 Harvest Shooting Victims Against MGM Resorts

On the night of October 1, 2017, gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire from a 32nd-floor room at Mandalay Bay hotel on a crowd of more than 22,000 people attending the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. Fifty-eight people were killed and hundreds more were wounded in what became the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. Thousands of survivors and family members were left with physical injuries, psychological trauma, and financial losses that would define the legal battle ahead.

MGM Resorts International owned both Mandalay Bay and the festival grounds where the attack occurred. Plaintiffs argued that MGM failed to implement adequate security measures that could have detected or disrupted the shooter before he was able to carry an arsenal of assault-style weapons through the hotel and into his room. The company disputed liability throughout the litigation, and even invoked a federal anti-terrorism statute in an effort to move cases to federal court, a legal maneuver that drew sharp criticism and public backlash from survivors.

Robert Eglet of Eglet Adams represented about 2,500 of the roughly 4,400 plaintiffs, the largest share. Four firms made up what the lawyers called the 1 October Litigation Leadership Group: Eglet Adams, Panish Shea Ravipudi (then Panish Shea and Boyle), Robinson Calcagnie and Munger, Tolles and Olson. Kevin Boyle and Daniel Robinson joined Eglet in speaking to reporters when the deal was announced, and the San Diego lawyer James Frantz of the Frantz Law Group, who represented 199 victims, announced it from his own office. After about eight months of mediation, the parties reached a settlement agreement announced on October 3, 2019.

The settlement was structured as a range: MGM's insurers committed a minimum of $735 million, with MGM itself contributing additional funds contingent on claimant participation, up to a ceiling of $800 million. An independent claims administrator was appointed to evaluate and distribute funds. Claimants with non-visible injuries who did not seek medical care were guaranteed a minimum recovery of $5,000. MGM admitted no liability.

Chief Judge Linda Bell of the Eighth Judicial District Court approved the settlement on September 30, 2020, with retired judges Jennifer Togliatti and Louis Meisinger overseeing fund distribution. The settlement was widely reported as the third-largest victim-compensation fund in U.S. history and the first time a corporation paid damages specifically in connection with a mass shooting. Eglet stated that all of his clients ultimately received their money.