CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- Movie theater chain Cinemark filed court documents Tuesday to drop its request of the Aurora theater shooting victims to pay nearly $700,000 in legal fees after an unsuccessful lawsuit.
Dozens of victims sued the chain in state and federal court after James Holmes opened fire inside Theater 9 of the Century Aurora 16 movie theater during a midnight showing of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises" on July 20, 2012, killing 12 and injuring 70.
The families claimed there was not enough security to stop the gunman from carrying out the shooting.
In May, an Arapahoe County civil jury ruled Cinemark was not liable for the shooting. After the state court verdict, U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson ruled in favor of the theater chain. Both cases were appealed.
Lawyers for Cinemark sought under Colorado law to retrieve legal costs after it was found not liable in the state case, filing a bill of costs for $699,187.13 in June in Arapahoe County court.
Last month, Cinemark said it reached agreement with several victims over cost claims. Four holdout plaintiffs in the state case decided to drop their appeals to the Colorado Court of Appeals, prompting Cinemark's move.
The filings, if approved by an Arapahoe County District Court judge, would end all civil lawsuits against Cinemark in the shooting.
In court filings, the Texas-based chain said it never actively sought the fees but said it was please "to resolve this matter fully and completely without an award of costs of any kind to any party.”
“[Cinemark] thank[s] the court for its efforts to help all parties reach this conclusion following the tragic events of July 20, 2012,” according to court documents.
