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Will the Las Vegas Tragedy Change the Hospitality Industry?

12/8/17

By: America Vidana
Hundreds of victims of the October 1, 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas have filed several suits in both California and Nevada courts against Mandalay Bay, MGM Resorts and LiveNation. The victims accused the hotel operator, MGM Resorts International, and its subsidiary, Mandalay Corp, which owns the hotel, of failing to properly monitor the shooter’s activities, train staff members and employ adequate security measures.
Additionally, the lawsuits accused the concert promoter, LiveNation, and the concert venue owner, also MGM, of failing to design, build or mark adequate emergency exits and to properly train and supervise employees in an appropriate plan of action in case of an emergency.
In order to prevail in such cases, a plaintiff must prove that the premises operators were negligent and the incident was reasonably foreseeable. Given the instant facts and the history of lawsuits following mass shootings, this will be an uphill battle for the victims unless they can show Mandalay Bay, MGM Resorts and LiveNation were careless and could have done more to prevent the shooting.
The shooter, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, was a retired multi-millionaire, who invested in real estate, gambled for fun and had no criminal antecedents. He reportedly was a “high-roller,” who was well-known in the gambling world and frequented casinos such as Mandalay Bay, for weeks at a time. By all accounts, the shooter did not display any unusual or suspicious behavior that may have alerted Mandalay Bay security of a potential threat to safety.
Arguments have been made that Mandalay Bay security should have been more vigilant of the 23 legally purchased guns, including high-caliber assault weapons, the shooter took to his room over the course of three days, or alternatively, that some inspection procedure, whether metal detectors or bag checks, should have been in place to detect such weapons. While Mandalay Bay, in addition to every major Las Vegas casino, spends hundreds of thousands of dollars yearly to catch illegal gamblers, it somehow failed to detect the plethora of artillery being transported through its casino floor. The shooter reportedly also installed cameras in the hallways, and declined room service for several days—bringing into question Mandalay Bay’s policies regarding room service and duration between checking a guest’s room.
Even more damaging to Mandalay Bay, a security guard was allegedly shot several minutes before the mass shooting ensued. Strangely, there was a six-minute lapse in Mandalay Bar’s response time from the initial shooting of the guard to the actual mass shooting. This will likely be one of the bigger issues MGM will face, as this arguably should have provided notice of the danger, and plausibly provided a reasonable opportunity to minimize, if not prevent, the casualties.
However, the litigation trail following mass shootings have largely favored the establishment. Notably, in a similar suit arising out of the Aurora, Colorado theater mass shooting at a showing of The Dark Knight Returns, the court dismissed claims of those injured against the theater because the crime was not foreseeable at the time and because the crime was an intervening and superseding cause of the harm. While not directly applicable in the Ninth Circuit, the court’s rationale and legal principles will surely be persuasive. But being the first such presentation of a case against the hospitality juggernaut, the court’s decision could set new precedent on industry standards for safety and emergency response.
For further information or for further inquiries involving hospitality law, you may contact America Vidana of Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP, at avidana@fmglaw.com.