Las Vegas mass shooting civil case heading toward mediation

LAS VEGAS — MGM Resorts International, the owners of the Mandalay Bay Hotel where gunman Stephen Paddock fired down into the Route 91 Harvest music festival from his 32^nd floor suite, killing 58 and wounding over 400, will be seeking mediation with attorneys for victims of the October 1 Las Vegas massacre.

MGMRI released this statement last week:

“From the onset of this litigation, our goal has been to resolve these matters fairly and promptly. After several weeks of discussions, MGM and the plaintiffs’ attorneys have agreed to stay the currently pending litigation in order to enter into mediation in an attempt to resolve claims related to October 1. This agreement requests that the Courts suspend all pending motions.

While we continue to believe ultimately courts would find in MGM’s favor, we hope that entering into mediation will allow the parties to work together toward a fair and timely resolution. Years of protracted litigation is in no one’s best interest. We look forward to continuing discussions and hope for a positive resolution so the victims, first responders and the entire community can look forward to the future and continue on the path toward healing.”

On October 19, Catherine Lombardo, one of several attorneys representing victims of the massacre said on her Facebook page, “Some good news learned today – Mandalay Bay DID have insurance coverage for terrorist/active shooter event. So there you go. It took over a year to obtain this information. But we finally secured it. They tried to hide.”

In July MGMRI filed lawsuits against 1,000 massacre victims in an attempt to block any compensation claims against the corporation.

If mediation proceeds successfully, then the legal discovery process in which all evidence and records including all the hotel surveillance video in the possession of MGMRI reference the October 1 massacre, that normally would be requested through subpoenas, would not occur.

That would also mean MGMRI executives and Mandalay Bay security personnel would not be facing scrutiny under oath during depositions.

The amount of the terrorist/active shooter insurance policy covering the Mandalay Bay could very well be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Doug Poppa

Doug authored over 135 articles on the October 1, 2017 Las Vegas Massacre, more than any other single journalist in the country. He investigates stories on corruption, law enforcement and crime. Doug is a US Army Military Police Veteran, former police officer, deputy sheriff and criminal investigator. Doug spent 20 years in the hotel/casino industry as an investigator and then as Director of Security and Surveillance. He also spent a short time with the US Dept. of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration. In 1986 Doug was awarded Criminal Investigator of the Year by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia for his undercover work in narcotics enforcement. In 1992 and 1993 Doug testified in court that a sheriff’s office official and the county prosecutor withheld exculpatory evidence during the 1988 trial of a man accused of the attempted murder of his wife. Doug’s testimony led to a judge’s decision to order the release of the man from prison in 1992 and awarded him a new trial, in which he was later acquitted. As a result of Doug breaking the police “blue wall of silence,” he was fired by the county sheriff. His story was featured on Inside Edition, Current Affair and CBS News’ “Street Stories with Ed Bradley”. In 1992 after losing his job, at the request of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Doug infiltrated a group of men who were plotting the kidnapping of a Dupont fortune heir and his wife. Doug has been a guest on national television and radio programs speaking on the stories he now writes as an investigative journalist.