Aurora’s theater shooting victims will not be forced to pay almost $700,000 in legal fees after an unsuccessful lawsuit. Cinemark is the company that owns Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.
Century 16 is where a mass shooting occurred in 2012 leaving 12 people dead and 70 injured at the hands of crazed man James Eagan Holmes during a midnight showing of the Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises.
Holmes was found guilty of the crime on August 7, 2015, and he was sentenced to life in prison. As we previously reported, Cinemark was in a lengthy court battle with dozens of victims, who claimed that the company did not have the proper security to protect them during the massacre.
In May, an Arapahoe County civil jury ruled for Cinemark; the families appealed the case. U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson later sided with the theater chain and stated that under Colorado law, Cinemark has the right to retrieve its legal costs from the losing side because it was found not liable in the state case.
In June, lawyers for the company claimed that the legal fees came to a total of $699,187.13 and requested that the victims pay the full amount. The story made headlines and became a PR nightmare for Cinemark.
On Tuesday, lawyers for Cinemark filed a court notice in Arapahoe County District Court saying that it is withdrawing its bill of costs in the state case. The notice was filed just hours after the company reached an agreement with the remaining four victims still pursuing the suit, who dropped their appeal. Attorneys for Cinemark wrote in the filing:
“The case can now be deemed completely over. The chain never actively sought the fees but said it was pleased to resolve this matter fully and completely without an award of costs of any kind to any party.”
The document went on say:
“[Cinemark] thank[s] the court for its efforts to help all parties reach this conclusion following the tragic events of July 20, 2012.”
The filing, if approved by an Arapahoe County District Court judge, will end all civil lawsuits against Cinemark in the shooting.
