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AURORA, Colo. — Four survivors of the Aurora theater shooting are appealing an order by a judge to pay nearly $700,000 in legal fees to the movie theater chain.
Relatives of those killed and wounded in the July 20, 2012, massacre sued Cinemark, the company that owns the Century 16 Theater where James Holmes opened fire during a midnight showing of the Batman film “The Dark Knight Rises.”
The families claimed there was not enough security to stop the gunman from carrying out the shooting that night.
In May, an Arapahoe County civil jury ruled Cinemark was not liable for the shooting, which left 12 people dead and 70 others injured.
Cinemark asked for money from the victims after it was found to not be liable. Lawyers for Cinemark filed the “bill of costs” for $699,187.13 in June in Arapahoe County court.
The Los Angeles Times reported a group of survivors were prepared to settle with Cinemark in the federal case that was brought after U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson said he was prepared to rule for the theater chain.
Jackson said the jury’s verdict in the state case in May had decided the issue. Still, the survivors and Cinemark negotiated a possible settlement on June 23 and had 24 hours to reach a conclusion.
Cinemark’s offer, the Times reported, was $150,000 to be split among 41 plaintiffs, with the three most critically injured to each receive $30,000. The remaining 38 would equally split the remaining $60,000.
One of the plaintiffs said it “was a slap in the face.” But if the deal wasn’t accepted, Cinemark said it would move forward under Colorado law and seek the large court fees that had accumulated.
“Either seek justice and go into debt, or take that pitiful offering of money and the improved public safety,” survivor Marcus Weaver said.
READ MORE: Fox8.com
Article Courtesy of WJW Fox 8 News Cleveland
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