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Most Tech Families Agree To Settle

April 11, 2008

By Rex Bowman

A majority of the survivors and families of the victims of the April 16 massacre at Virginia Tech have agreed not to sue the state in exchange for a share of an $11 million settlement, according to private attorneys and the governor's office.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said yesterday a "substantial majority" of the victims and victims' families have agreed to the settlement. Though refusing to offer details of the deal until it is finalized, Kaine said most families and survivors "would like to reach a resolution rather than litigation."

"It's at least a conceptual agreement," Kaine said. The "key now is to reduce it to writing and see that folks are on board."

According to parts of the settlement disclosed last month, representatives of those killed would get $100,000. The injured would share a pool of $800,000, with a cap of $100,000 per person, and their medical expenses would be paid. Another $1.75 million would be used to create a hardship fund that the victims could draw on. The total payout includes attorneys' fees and undisclosed charitable contributions.

Despite the announcement, the state — and Tech — could still face lawsuits if other families and survivors refuse to settle.

"There are too many variables to say whether everybody is going to accept it," said lawyer Edward Jazlowiecki of Bristol, Conn., who represents the family of slain student Henry Lee of Roanoke. They have not agreed to the settlement, he said.

The families have signed confidentiality agreements, but lawyer Peter Grenier of the Washington law firm Bode & Grenier, which notified the state that it might file suit on behalf of 21 families and survivors, said the deal would help those who accepted it.

"Seriously injured victims will be well-compensated and have their health-care needs taken care of forever," according to a statement released by Grenier and co-counsel Douglas E. Fierberg. "Families who lost loved ones will be similarly compensated and cared for."

The settlement also means the families would not have to go through the emotional stress of a civil trial.

Thirty-two people were shot and killed by gunman Seung-Hui Cho on April 16, and roughly two dozen others were wounded or injured before he killed himself. According to documents on file in Attorney General Bob McDonnell's office, 41 families and survivors have put the state on notice that they might file suit.

As many as 20 of the survivors and victims' representatives have no legal representation, but have been advised on the mediation process by Charlottesville lawyer Thomas E. Albro, who was asked to offer the advice pro bono by the Virginia State Bar. Albro said as many as a half-dozen of the unrepresented have agreed to the settlement.

At least five law firms are involved in the negotiation process.

Lawyers for survivors and victims' families have argued in documents filed with the state that Tech failed to protect students by not alerting them that a killer was possibly on campus. Cho killed his first two victims in a dormitory around 7:15 a.m., and Tech did not send out an e-mail notifying students until 9:26 a.m. At 9:40 a.m., Cho began killing 30 other students and teachers in Norris Hall.

Under Virginia law, the most the state would have to pay if found guilty of simple negligence in a civil trial is $100,000. However, the state could be liable for more if a jury deemed Tech had committed gross negligence or willful misconduct.

Grenier promised that the settlement accepted by the majority will "result in the release of previously undisclosed facts and information turned up by our firm's investigation." He would not elaborate.

University of Richmond law professor Carl W. Tobias said the state might have announced the settlement before everyone has agreed to it in "an attempt to prompt people to come forward and settle." The risk, though, is that the state could end up paying millions in a settlement to some while spending millions to fight lawsuits from others.

"Even if you only have five holdouts, you still have to go through the whole legal process," Tobias said.

Families and survivors have already received between $11,500 and $208,000 in payments from donations that poured into Virginia Tech in the days after the shootings.

Kaine said cash for the settlement likely would be drawn from the state's insurance fund managed by the Department of General Services.

Contact Rex Bowman at ((540) 344-3612 or rbowman@timesdispatch.com