Three years to the day after the shooting that killed 58 people in Las Vegas, a court on Wednesday evening confirmed an agreement between the hotel and casino group MGM Resorts and the relatives of victims and survivors of the killing.

Amount of compensation: nearly $ 800 million.

A Las Vegas court on Wednesday validated an out-of-court settlement, for an amount of nearly $ 800 million, reached between the hotel and casino group MGM Resorts and the relatives of victims and survivors of the shooting. October 1, 2017, which killed 58 people in this city.

The company had been sued by more than 2,000 people because the shooter, Stephen Paddock, had fired from a window of the Mandalay Bay hotel, owned by the hotel group.

He had targeted the audience of a country music concert held on a lot next to the hotel, firing more than a thousand cartridges before committing suicide.

Fifty-eight people were killed and more than 800 others injured in the deadliest shooting in US history.

Beyond the insurance guarantee

MGM announced in October 2019 that it had reached an amicable settlement that still had to get the green light from a Las Vegas court.

In her decision, consulted by AFP, Judge Linda Bell notes that the amount proposed by MGM goes beyond the insurance guarantee ($ 751 million) and therefore considers that the transaction was "in good faith".

The deal is expected to enable MGM Resorts to end the majority of legal actions brought by survivors or relatives of victims.

Those who will accept compensation under the agreement will indeed agree to drop all lawsuits against the hotelier.

"The largest possible amount for the plaintiffs"

But Wednesday's judgment underlines that the transaction was "almost unanimously" among potential plaintiffs and notes "the extraordinary work done by the councils in this case to obtain the largest possible amount for the plaintiffs (...) despite incredibly difficult and unique circumstances ".

"We welcome that the decision allows families, victims and the public to take one more step to turn the page. It is particularly significant that the decision comes on the eve of the third anniversary of the incident, a moment of great sadness and meditation ", reacted for its part MGM Resorts in a statement to AFP.

The suicide of the gunman, a 64-year-old accountant, did not allow investigators to determine his motives.