OXFORD, Mich. – A judge ruled that each Oxford High School shooting victim and gunshot should be considered a separate incident, resulting in a $55 million total payout.
Four students, Hanna St. Juliana, Justin Shilling, Madisyn Baldwin, and Tate Myre, were killed in the Oxford High School shooting on Nov. 30, 2021.
Other lives were changed forever, and as victims’ families sought answers and justice, what did the insurance company with Oxford schools say about the dollar amount the schools are liable for?
An insurance company for Oxford schools says damages from the shooting to be paid to all victims should be capped at $5 million.
Oxford schools sued its own insurance company demanding to know what it was liable for in its $5 million dollar insurance policy.
The company says it sees the shooting as one incident from start to finish.
A judge sees the shooting this way: Every victim, every gunshot is an incident – and every victim should get $5 million.
The ruling means that Judge Cunnigham agrees with Oxford Community Schools and the victims’ families that each one of these kids have separate occurrences, so $55 million is at stake, instead of $5 million,” said Ven Johnson, the attorney representing several Oxford families whose children were taken from them in the shooting.
Johnson made a statement in the ruling following the ruling:
“Judge Cunningham’s ruling in the Oxford Community School’s lawsuit against its own insurance company, MASB-SEG Property/Casualty Pool, is a huge victory for the victims’ families, as well as, interestingly enough, Oxford Community Schools,” said Johnson. “From the outset of our civil case in Oakland County Circuit Court, the insurance company has taken the position that there is only a $5 million insurance policy that applies to all these cases and yet never made any reasonable offers to our collective clients. Now that the court has ruled that the insurance policy limits are $55 million, the insurance company obviously has much more to lose than they initially expected. The victims’ families and likely Oxford Community Schools will stand together and demand that the insurance company do its job and pay for these claims to the extent of the policy limit of $55 million. No amount of money could fully compensate these victims for their horrible losses, but at least the families would feel that SOME justice has finally been obtained against the school district, which played a significant role in its failure to prevent the shooting.”
The Oxford Community Schools Board of Education issued a statement on the matter.
“We are pleased with the Oakland County Circuit Court’s ruling in favor of Oxford Community Schools in our lawsuit against insurer MASB-SEG. The ruling provides clarity on the amount of potential insurance coverage available to the school district and its employees for the underlying lawsuits. We hope that this ruling paves the way for us to soon resolve this matter. At the end of the day, there are no winners here. Our thoughts remain with all the families impacted by the horrific events of November 30, 2021 and we remain committed to resolving the related legal disputes on behalf of our school community.”
Oxford Community Schools Board of Education
Oxford schools are expected to appeal the judge’s ruling.
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