Colorado: "Parents of Klebold, Harris settle suits"

[cuchulainn]

from the Rocky Mountain News

http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/columbine/article/0,1299,DRMN_106_2178629,00.html

Parents of Klebold, Harris settle suits

Agreements, not yet disclosed, are with 5 of victims' families

By Karen Abbott, Rocky Mountain News
August 13, 2003

The parents of Columbine gunmen Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris have settled with the holdout families of five slain students who sued them after the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.

Thomas and Susan Klebold reached an agreement last week with the five families and filed settlement paperwork Tuesday in Denver U.S. District Court, said their attorney, Gary Lozow.

The Klebold parents plan to issue a statement soon about the settlement, Lozow said.

Wayne and Katherine Harris reached an agreement Tuesday during an all-day settlement conference before Denver U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia Coan, the Rocky Mountain News has learned.

The settlements are with the families of slain Columbine High School students Daniel Rohrbough, Kelly Fleming, Matthew Kechter, Lauren Townsend and Kyle Velasquez.

Nearly all of the Columbine victim families' claims have now been settled or dismissed.

Brian Rohrbough, Daniel's father, had sworn he wouldn't settle until the Klebold and Harris parents answered questions.

"I always said I wouldn't settle with anyone without full accountability. What I know from the Klebolds and the Harrises is they have an awful lot to answer for and neither one is willing to do so," Rohrbough said in October 2001.

The Harris and Klebold parents answered questions behind closed doors during depositions in recent weeks.

Rohrbough and other parties in the lawsuit could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Most families of the dead and injured settled with the Klebold and Harris parents in April 2001. Lozow said the terms of the latest settlements are the same.

That settlement called for the families of 36 Columbine victims to share nearly $1.6 million paid by the companies providing the Harris and Klebold homeowners insurance.

The exact amounts that each family received never have been announced. A retired federal judge calculated the shares, but some families opted not to take theirs.

Families whose children survived with injuries reportedly received more than those whose children died. Money also was set aside to cover any future settlements.

Families of slain children reportedly received a maximum of about $23,000.

Seniors Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris attacked their suburban Jefferson County high school with guns and bombs on April 20, 1999. They killed 12 students and a teacher and wounded more than 20 others before taking their own lives.

The attack spawned more than a score of lawsuits in various courts over various issues, including some filed by news organizations over access to information.

The defendants included school officials, law enforcement officials, gun dealers and three young people who helped the teen gunmen obtain guns.

The lawsuits still outstanding include one filed by the family of slain student Isaiah Shoels.

A federal judge recently ruled that Shoels' family reached a valid settlement with the Harris and Klebold parents and must live up to it.

The Shoels family contends no such settlement was reached and has appealed that ruling.

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[Henry Bowman]

At least this lawsuit was against some one who may have shared some of the true blame.

 

[Hkmp5sd]

Exactly why are the companies providing homeowners insurance liable for "damages" resulting from the illegal actions of two individuals that occured on public property?

Perhaps because the two murderers are dead, the parents have no money and the school & police cannot be sued for not protecting the students, leaving the insurance companies as the only entities even remotely related the incident that have money and the mindset of our country is "someone has to pay!"?

 

[Henry Bowman]

Exactly why are the companies providing homeowners insurance liable for "damages" resulting from the illegal actions of two individuals that occured on public property?

Because they entered into a contract committing to do so.

 

[Hkmp5sd]

Sorry, still don't see where the homeowners insurance has any responsibility for this or any illegal activity that takes place in a house they insure. Unless they had information about the future crime and did nothing, they merely insured the house from the normal fire, flooding, earthquake or other damage.

Did they sue the automobile insurance company? They obviously transported the weapons in a vehicle. Perhaps the car manufacturer, dealership and company that made the tires?

 

[Henry Bowman]

Most homeowners insurance policies include an "umbrella" provision or an "all liabilities" clause that is very broad. This covers wrongful death. There may be exclusions for criminal acts, but the parents could still have non-criminal acts (or omissions) for which they could be civilly liable under a negligence theory. Unlike the gun manufacturer, they could have (should have) exercised control over their minor children. I believe the parents were the civil defendants in this case, not the (estates of) the criminals.

 

[Gray Peterson]

One other question:

Wasn't Eric Harris 18 years old, and therefor no longer under their parent's control or liability? I can understand Kleybold's family, since he was 17, but Harris was 18. What gives?