Cinemark Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, ColoradoBrennan Linsley/AP
Cinemark, the country’s third-largest movie theater chain, is asking survivors of a 2012 mass shooting at an Aurora, Colorado, cineplex to reimburse it for nearly $700,000 in legal fees.
In 2012, survivors and family members of victims filed a lawsuit accusing Cinemark of failing to take proper security measures before the shooting, which left more than 12 people dead and 70 wounded. In May, a jury ruled against the plaintiffs after Cinemark argued it could not have predicted or prepared for the attack.
Colorado’s courts allow winners civil cases to recover their legal fees, and in June Cinemark filed a “bill of costs” for $699,187, according to the Denver Post. The company’s attorneys declined a request for comment by Mother Jones but have told a judge they need the money to cover expenses related to the lawsuit, like the costs of preserving evidence and retrieving records.
It’s not yet clear whether the survivors will pay the full amount—a judge must approve the final figure, and further appeals could affect Cinemark’s attempts to seek reimbursement. But that hasn’t tempered public outrage at the request, with some calling for a boycott of the movie theater chain on Twitter.
WTF @cinemark?!?! | #BoycottCinemark gains traction after theater chain requests $700K from Aurora shooting victims https://t.co/zrKTDgr0CL
— Pedro Rafael Rosado (@prrosado) July 1, 2016
#BoycottCinemark for expecting victims of #Aurora to pay them $700,000 @cinemark you have forever lost my business https://t.co/EWZ3IDura4
— Jan Hobbs (@hobbs_jan13) July 1, 2016
Go see #FindingDory but not at @Cinemark #BoycottCinemark pic.twitter.com/x6egYrougp
— (((Kavin #RiseUp))) (@stylistkavin) July 1, 2016
they’re going to need that $700k for damage repair to their public image. #appalling#BoycottCinemark https://t.co/vWdAiaeItt
— David Wiegand (@WaitWhat_TV) July 1, 2016
#BoycottCinemark because they want the VICTIMS of a TRAUMATIC MASS SHOOTING to pay them 700,000 dollars. https://t.co/2hJmpiwnP5
— antonio (@antoniodelotero) July 1, 2016
A billion dollar company is seeking under .0002% of their revenue from Aurora Victims who have lost so much. Wow. @Cinemark #BoycottCinemark
— Dillon Quinn (@DillonJQuinn) July 1, 2016
