Las Vegas Massacre Spawns Coverage Dispute

MGM Resorts International is suing Illinois-based Zurich American Insurance Co. in a dispute related to the 2017 shooting that left 58 people dead. MGM Resorts owns the Mandalay Bay hotel, where a man took up a position on the 32 floor and opened fire on an outdoor crowd at a country and western music festival. It was the largest mass shooting in U.S. history. MGM is fielding more than 4,000 compensation claims related to the incident, according to its filing in the coverage dispute. That lawsuit, filed in federal court in Las Vegas, “does not relate to coverage for a potential settlement and is limited to Zurich’s obligation to pay defense costs in this matter,” according to an MGM spokesman quoted in an article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. With regard to the liability claims, the Associated Press earlier reported that MGM, in a May SEC filing, said it “believes it is reasonably possible” that a settlement will be reached within a year for up to $800 million, and that it has $751 million in insurance to go toward a settlement. However, a lawyer handling mediation talks for plaintiffs said parties were not even close to a settlement.