F
Fawlty
Guest
Here we go, jumping to conclusions.
They are not "suing the school". They are suing "the state Board of Education, Department of Education and Education Commissioner". Are all of these state, or are some federal? Sounds to me like their aim is to hold the government accountable.
And just to clear something up (mentioned earlier in the thread), they are not taking money away from the other victims. If they are successful, every one of the other victims will be able to follow them. It's a test case.
Of course it's going to be $100 million. You seek humongous damages, and then the court decides the appropriate amount, that's just how these things work.
And this isn't without merit. The authorities have a duty of care towards the children. If a child had fallen over on an unsafe playground with holes in the ground, you bet your ass parents would sue. I think there's politics to this suit, saying that it's reasonably foreseeable in the current society that a gunman would walk into a school and start shooting, and it's the society (ie the government) that is accountable. You can say "it's a madman" all you like, but if you build a school next to a max security facility and don't do anything to protect children, again, lawsuit.
I'd be fricken angry as a parent if the unspeakable happened. And you're damn right I would be looking to apportion blame.
That pretty much makes you a giant asshole doesn't it?