Survivors of the school shooting in Oxford, Michigan, are filing a $100 million lawsuit against the Oxford School District and employees, according to attorney Geoffrey Fieger.
Fieger filed one federal lawsuit on behalf of Oxford students and siblings Riley Franz, 17, a senior, and Bella Franz, 14, a freshman. Riley was shot in the neck while next to Bella during the attack.
Defendants listed in the federal lawsuit filed early Thursday include Superintendent Timothy Throne, High School Principal Steven Wolf, Dean Ryan Moore and unidentified counselors, teachers and staff members.
Fieger said he hoped making the financial cost of “allowing children to be slaughtered” high, it would compel people to make necessary changes.
Similar suits have been filed in other states with mass school shootings with mixed degrees of success.
- When 17 students were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the school district paid out $25 million to 52 people, settling just this October.
- A 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, where 26 people were killed inspired a lawsuit that was thrown out by a judge, citing government immunity.
Immunity may also serve as a defense for Oxford school district officials. Michigan law grants immunity from civil liability to government agencies and employees.
However, immunity is not a blanket defense, according to an attorney who represented more than 100 individuals in the sexual abuse case against Larry Nassar.
Individuals can still be held liable for gross negligence, which is defined in the law as “Conduct so reckless as to demonstrate a substantial lack of concern for whether an injury results.”
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