After a settlement collapsed, four survivors of the Aurora cinema shooting 2012 are left paying the Cinemark chain at least $ 700,000.
The settlement default and the financial implications were outlined Tuesday by the Los Angeles Times, who reconstructed the story through interviews with people involved in the talks between the owners of the Century Aurora 16 mutliplex and 41 applicants, including survivors and relatives of the victims.
A federal judge overseeing their case had advised the complainants that they should deal with Cinemark in 24 hours. Another group of survivors had filed a complaint with the state, and a jury decided Cinemark could not foresee the shooting, which left 12 dead and over 70 injured during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises. Because of this decision, the judge said, it would most likely also not responsible chain of shooting.
As plaintiff Marcus Weaver told the Times, the group had to decide whether they were willing to accept $ 150,000 distributed among 41 applicants. He said he did not think it was enough, but he was satisfied that the company was going to have to take further measures to protect customers. Applicants also know if they rejected the agreement and the case moved forward, under Colorado law, they would be responsible for Cinemark’s legal costs.
As Cinemark drafted a press release announcing the settlement, an unidentified plaintiff dismissed the case. Weaver and 36 other plaintiffs were quickly removed from the prosecution, but four remained, and the judge ruled the day for Cinemark. The state’s case has cost $ 699,000, and the federal case should be more.
Several complainants and lawyers told the Times they were unhappy with the way the case of the state has been processed, and some federal seekers were so suspicious of the low case as rumors began to spread that Cinemark was in fact behind it and wanted it to fail. Weaver, who is married and had a child after the shooting, told the Times he seeks to go with his life, but he can not shake what happened with the federal case. “Theatres are not safer,” he said. “It’s almost like everything was for nothing.”
