And the first lawsuit...

[Chad4000]

Here we go.....

http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2012/07/aurora_theater_shooting_torrence_brown_first_lawsu it.php

(sorry if this is a repost...)

[Chad4000]

"1. The theater. Karpel claims it was negligent for the theater to have an emergency door in the front that was not alarmed or guarded. It's widely believed Holmes entered the theater with a ticket, propped the emergency door open from inside, went to his car and returned with guns.
2. Holmes' doctors. Karpel says it appears Holmes was on several medications -- prescribed by one or more doctors -- at the time of the shooting and he believes the docs did not properly monitor Holmes.
3. Warner Bros. Karpel says Dark Knight Rises was particularly violent and Holmes mimicked some of the action. The attorney says theater goers were helpless because they thought the shooter was part of the movie."

[kanekutter05]

I would bet pretty good money that the lawyer approached the victims about this lawsuit...not the other way around.

[dwalker460]

In some cases, Shakespeare was right....

[Chad4000]

I would bet pretty good money that the lawyer approached the victims about this lawsuit...not the other way around.


yeah I bet so...

[Rucker61]

Let's add frivolous-lawsuit attorneys to the list of people we should publicly smear feces on.

[Chad4000]

Let's add frivolous-lawsuit attorneys to the list of people we should publicly smear feces on.


Yeah exactly.... ugh

[buffalobo]

Would hate to see any of these folks victimized again.

Don't think I agree with issues listed. Need to contemplate it more.

[ChunkyMonkey]

If anything.. I hope the insurance companies realize that allowing CCW may have helped preventing a psychopath like James Holmes from doing such thing - not the other way around.

Insurance companies force businesses to put up no firearms signs... insurance companies will pay for these lawsuits too! Greedy Lawyers vs greedy insurance, I dont feel sorry for them abit.

[Ronin13]

I'm not so sure that the lawyer approached this kid. I saw him on the news the other night and he's a fucking liberal piece of shit. Sorry, I know he's a "victim" of this horrible tragedy, but he's an idiot! I don't care, idiots can be victims too, but when they try to bring us down to their level I get infuriated. This kid wants a police state, plain and simple. He said "there's no need for anyone to own an AR-15," and "There should have been security guards at the theater." WHAT!? How about we just post a cop on EVERY corner? How about we just make theaters charge $45/ticket so they can hire BlackWater to come and guard us while we watch our movies? And violent movies are entertaining. Two of my favorite movies are Heat and The Town... I'm not more inclined to do anything wrong after watching them. I'll bet 99% of people who see violent movies are not. STFU you fucking idiot! [Rant1]
/rant

[RCCrawler]

It'd be great just once to have someone with a CCW that was involved to sue the theater for taking away their right to defend themselves by not allowing ccw.

[dwalker460]

I suspect the family put it out there they were looking for a lawsuit, and they found each other.

There are armed off-duty police in the lobby of the theatre, THAT is not the issue here.

I suspect, like many, he and his family just want to get the millions they are "owed" and spout off until they are "famous".

[Chad4000]

It'd be great just once to have someone with a CCW that was involved to sue the theater for taking away their right to defend themselves by not allowing ccw.

Exactly! Great point!

[PSS]

I'm not so sure that the lawyer approached this kid. I saw him on the news the other night and he's a fucking liberal piece of shit. Sorry, I know he's a "victim" of this horrible tragedy, but he's an idiot! [Rant1]
/rant


If I'm reading the article right, the person suing wasn't even injured.


The plaintiff: Torrence Brown Jr., who was not physically injured in the melee but was friends with victim A.J. Boik. The attorney: Donald Karpel, a Beverly Hills lawyer who doesn't shy away from the limelight.

[Clint45]

I agree that the theater was negligent in regard to the emergency exits. While they, by law, cannot be locked; there is no handle on the outside and they can only be opened from inside via the pushbar. Fire/Emergency exits are frequently alarmed and will sound an alarm when opened . . . these doors were not alarmed. Furthermore, it is not at all uncommon for a patron to purchase one ticket, then go over to the emergency exit and allow several friends inside without paying -- this happens so often that many theaters have an usher standing next to each exit until the show begins and then for 10 minutes or more afterwards. With such a popular movie's premier that was nearly sold out and filled to capacity, those exits should have been guarded at the beginning of the show, which is when this incident occurred. On a weekday afternoon matinee, that is unnecessary, but for a midnight premier it was borderline criminal negligence. That theater will lose the civil suit regarding the exits. The other two lawsuits lack merit and are frivolous.

[Ronin13]

If I'm reading the article right, the person suing wasn't even injured.

No, he walked away without one scratch. He got very lucky. Another reason this lawsuit should fall on it's face, but welcome to America... [Bang]


I agree that the theater was negligent in regard to the emergency exits. While they, by law, cannot be locked; there is no handle on the outside and they can only be opened from inside via the pushbar. Fire/Emergency exits are frequently alarmed and will sound an alarm when opened . . . these doors were not alarmed. Furthermore, it is not at all uncommon for a patron to purchase one ticket, then go over to the emergency exit and allow several friends inside without paying -- this happens so often that many theaters have an usher standing next to each exit until the show begins and then for 10 minutes or more afterwards. With such a popular movie's premier that was nearly sold out and filled to capacity, those exits should have been guarded at the beginning of the show, which is when this incident occurred. On a weekday afternoon matinee, that is unnecessary, but for a midnight premier it was borderline criminal negligence. That theater will lose the civil suit regarding the exits. The other two lawsuits lack merit and are frivolous.
This is what I was thinking... WHERE WERE THE USHERS? Usually those guys are crawling all over the place. Maybe they had too much going on this night? I don't know.

[Richard K]

I'm not so sure that the lawyer approached this kid. I saw him on the news the other night and he's a fucking liberal piece of shit. Sorry, I know he's a "victim" of this horrible tragedy, but he's an idiot! I don't care, idiots can be victims too, but when they try to bring us down to their level I get infuriated. This kid wants a police state, plain and simple. He said "there's no need for anyone to own an AR-15," and "There should have been security guards at the theater." WHAT!? How about we just post a cop on EVERY corner? How about we just make theaters charge $45/ticket so they can hire BlackWater to come and guard us while we watch our movies? And violent movies are entertaining. Two of my favorite movies are Heat and The Town... I'm not more inclined to do anything wrong after watching them. I'll bet 99% of people who see violent movies are not. STFU you fucking idiot! [Rant1]
/rant

Poor guy, what are his damages, the cost of his ticket? Pain and suffering? Apparently he wasn't shot or otherwise injured. PTSD?

[Chad4000]

I agree that the theater was negligent in regard to the emergency exits. While they, by law, cannot be locked; there is no handle on the outside and they can only be opened from inside via the pushbar. Fire/Emergency exits are frequently alarmed and will sound an alarm when opened . . . these doors were not alarmed. Furthermore, it is not at all uncommon for a patron to purchase one ticket, then go over to the emergency exit and allow several friends inside without paying -- this happens so often that many theaters have an usher standing next to each exit until the show begins and then for 10 minutes or more afterwards. With such a popular movie's premier that was nearly sold out and filled to capacity, those exits should have been guarded at the beginning of the show, which is when this incident occurred. On a weekday afternoon matinee, that is unnecessary, but for a midnight premier it was borderline criminal negligence. That theater will lose the civil suit regarding the exits. The other two lawsuits lack merit and are frivolous.

dont they have the right to not protect themselves from people sneaking in?

anybody know if the doors were marked? did they actually say that it would sound an alarm if opened? would that change anything?

[speedysst]

Maybe thats why the murderer waited until about 30 min into the movie. Maybe the ushers were at the exits then had to depart for other duties.

[colorider]

Wtf is a nerdy usher going to do ? I guess he could have kept the door from being propped open. But then the shooter would have gonein the lobby and shot it up. Then walked in the theater and shot it up. Or usher shot 1st. Alarm ,,,,,,,,,, people would have sat around looking at the propped door. I'm pretty sure they would not scatter out of the theater due to a door alarm. Usher would have shown up to respond to the door and be the 1st one shot. Only thing that would have stopped this dick is a bullet or somebody taking him down.

[Clint45]

Wtf is a nerdy usher going to do ? I guess he could have kept the door from being propped open.

And that is all he would've needed to do. You can't get in from the outside otherwise.

There was also an armed policeman providing security in the lobby.

[Uberjager]

Let's add frivolous-lawsuit attorneys to the list of people we should publicly smear feces on.

Lol reminds me of Lionel Hutz from the Simpsons.

[DirtyHarry]

ah lawyers.....will destroy civilization like whatever hit the dinosaurs

[buffalobo]

After reading couple more reports about this, guy is a scumbag and looking for a payday.

Frivolous lawsuit.

[Whistler]

What a effeminate looking little guy. Looks like Mr Rodgers or Urkel.
Hate to say it...but he is a stereotypical African American liberal- just like a Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, etc. Wanting something for nothing, making the big olde bad corporations pay, and having not a clue regarding the 2nd amend. Loser. Gives honest Black Americans a bad name.

Agree w/ "loser" and I'd add "parasite" but what the heck does his physical appearance have to do with anything?

[Chad4000]

Doubt it. And I do a lot of litigation. What I expect is the theater will settle for some amount out of court (like $50,000) to get the dickhole to shut up and not have to pay $75,000 in attorney fees.

Now, if the theater wanted to, it could keep the kid from prevailing on any claim. Unless fire or osha required the door to be alarmed (doubt it), you really cant claim negligence. It's a pretty far stretch to try to say emergency exits have to be guarded. There is also the theory of culpable negligence. The theator could say - when you saw someone prop the door open, you should have reported it. Court rules and says, theater only culpable for 5%-15% of damages or what have you. Fact of the matter is though, they will settle just to brush it away despite the fact they could relatively easily prevail on all claims.


this...

[hammer03]

Would be great to see them held liable for creating a "gun free zone", but doubt we'll see the day.

[Monky]

Doubt it. And I do a lot of litigation. What I expect is the theater will settle for some amount out of court (like $50,000) to get the dickhole to shut up and not have to pay $75,000 in attorney fees.

Now, if the theater wanted to, it could keep the kid from prevailing on any claim. Unless fire or osha required the door to be alarmed (doubt it), you really cant claim negligence. It's a pretty far stretch to try to say emergency exits have to be guarded. There is also the theory of culpable negligence. The theator could say - when you saw someone prop the door open, you should have reported it. Court rules and says, theater only culpable for 5%-15% of damages or what have you. Fact of the matter is though, they will settle just to brush it away despite the fact they could relatively easily prevail on all claims.

I can tell you right now.. this is the first of MANY.. the people who were there have been shopped. Several 'community leaders' are farming them out to the highest bidder.. [NoEvil]