Virginia Tech Massacre - Legal Aftermath

Legal Aftermath

On June 17, 2008, Judge Theodore J. Markow approved an $11 million settlement in a suit against the state of Virginia by 24 of the 32 victims' families. Of the other eight victims, two families chose not to file claims, while two remain unresolved. The settlement also covered 18 people who were injured; their lifelong health care needs included in the settlement.

The Department of Education fined the University $55,000 on March 29, 2011, for waiting too long to notify students of the initial shootings. The fine was the highest amount that the Department of Education could levy for the two violations of the Clery Act resulting from the failure to notify students in a timely manner of the shootings in West Ambler Johnston. In announcing the fine against the University, the director of a department panel which reviewed the case was quoted as saying "While Virginia Tech's violations warrant a fine far in excess of what is currently permissible under the statute, the department's fine authority is limited." As of March 30, 2011, the University had announced its intention to appeal the decision.

On March 14, 2012, a jury found that Virginia Tech was guilty of negligence for delaying a campus warning. The parents of two students who were killed filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit that argued that lives could have been spared if school officials had moved more quickly to alert the campus after the first two victims were shot in a dorm.